


somewhere only we know

by obijuankenobi



Category: Charmed (TV 2018)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Family Bonding, Getting Together, Magic, Minor Angst, Other Magical Creatures/Beings, Pining, Sisters being sisters, lots of pining, mentions of abuse, minor injury, too much pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2020-11-10 16:38:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 87,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20854925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obijuankenobi/pseuds/obijuankenobi
Summary: Harry Greenwood had been doing his best to stick to the agreement and pretend it had never happened. He had thought, foolishly, that he could mash down his feelings and continue on as normal. Only it was far more difficult for him, and everyone else around him, to pretend that he was not in love with Macy Vaughn.Or the 5 Times the Magical World forced Macy and Harry together.





	1. You Were (Mer)Made for Each Other

**Author's Note:**

> not beta-ed.  
sorry for all the mistakes!

Routines were important. They gave you structure. Stability. They allowed for some sort of familiarity when normality was lost to the fray. It was a pillar to clutch onto when the rug beneath your feet was pulled out from below. He had a schedule to keep. He still had his charges to protect, even though technically he was no longer assigned to them. But there was something much stronger keeping him in the Vera-Vaughn household than duty, or someone telling him what to do. 

He tried not to think about those who he used to report to as there were none of them left. 

Harry shut his eyes, hands catching the edges of the sink to steady himself. The toothpaste coating his mouth stung pleasantly in the way only mint could. When he felt as though he was no longer going to keel over from the surge of guilt he continued, his mind helpfully providing his daily schedule to keep from wandering to other matters. 

He had awoken at his usual time, his alarm having gone off like normal. He got out of bed. He showered, shaved, brushed his teeth. He still needed to get dressed and double check that he had everything in his briefcase that he needed to attend work. And then…

And then he was going to see the Charmed Ones. He looked up, his face in the mirror looked about on par with how those words made him feel. 

Oh, he was being silly.

He exited the bathroom, crossing his bedroom to his closet in order to begin getting dressed. It was not as if he did not see Mel, Maggie, and Macy every day. He cooked them breakfast, packed them the occasional lunch when he thought necessary, saw both Maggie and Macy around campus, and, of course, was there for them when they called his name in order to battle the forces of darkness and evil. 

And, as of late, help work out the new governing system of the Magical World. He tried to keep his opinions to himself, knowing full well that those three women were fully capable of working everything out, but it seemed that he didn’t always need to. They would often ask for his input on a situation, or in Maggie’s case huff in annoyance and whine to him that being in charge was _ such a drag sometimes! _

No, that he did not mind. He loved them. They were his friends. Or, as he liked to think of them, his family. 

It was Macy he had been fretting over these past few months. 

Though she had kept to his word on not mentioning it, there had been a rift between them ever since she had heard his thoughts. His wretched thoughts that he had not kept in check, unable to hide his inappropriate feelings away upon seeing her in trouble. He had cursed himself everyday after. Every time Macy would put more distance between them, every time she would vacate the premises with some sort of excuse about work or meeting a friend or something else entirely when they had been left alone together. Every time he would feel her stare on him only to turn and find her eyes having jumped to something else. 

What was worse was that it did nothing to defer his feelings. He had tried, thinking that perhaps they would diminish as their time together continued, and yet they had only grown. Had flourished in the months where they had been amidst the chaos of diplomatic endeavors, taking further root every time she would say something brilliant, which was more often than not. His heart would thump enthusiastically at him when she got that look in her eye, bright and wild after having rearranged the pieces of the puzzle together to fit perfectly. Or when they were both within the kitchen working next to one another without even having to think. His cooking coupled with her baking made for tea- er,_ dinner_ that were absolute knockouts. She would laugh at him, she would snip at him, ramble about work or something that she had read, ask him questions, and sometimes he thought that she had done as he had suggested, forgotten about what he had been thinking that day. 

Only then something would happen, he would come too close, brush her hand when passing the whisk, catch her eye across the way when all the Charmed Ones were present for a meeting for a moment too long that either Maggie or Mel would call them out of, and she would retreat away from him. Sometimes it would take minutes or hours for her to let go of the tension line that kept her shoulders squared around him, other times it would take days. 

It was obvious she did not return his affections to the extent that which his reached, after Galvin he suspected that it would take her a great deal of time to recover. Harry had no intention of even allowing himself to fantasize on his feelings as it was clear how she felt about him. 

Macy did not want him. 

No, correction: Macy would never want him. 

He made her uncomfortable, and not for the first time did he wonder if his selfishness for not wanting to be alone was getting in the way of what really mattered. Every morning he woke up and told himself that this was the breakfast he was making in order to tell the girls that he was leaving, and then every morning one of them would do something that made it impossible for him to stick to this vow. 

Yesterday Melanie had commanded him to come back to the house after work in order to discuss a new text she had been reading on the culture of werewolves, wanting to know more about the matriarchal packs. The day before Maggie had gotten a call from Parker and had asked if they could all have a movie night, requesting if Harry could make his potato curry for her. 

And today, just as all the previous ones before, he told himself that _ this was it _. With his shoelaces tied, shirt buttoned, trousers pressed, and briefcase in hand, he orbed to the girls’ home. Specifically the kitchen. As always it was vacant this time in the morning.

Placing his jacket and briefcase down on one of the bar stools in favor of adorning his apron, he turned to get to work.

\--

He sighed, leaning back against the counter top to sip at his tea about an hour and a half later while he waited for someone to straggle in. The smell of the food had filled the air, both sweet and savory wafting through the house. 

To both his pleasure and dismay, Macy was the first one to enter. 

“Morning, Harry,” she smiled, passing by him in order to get to the cabinet where the mugs were. 

“Good morning, Macy,” he replied without missing a beat as he was well versed in saving face as a Whitelighter. “I trust you slept well after working terribly late?”

That earned him a chuckle, deep and smooth against the retreating sounds of an alive kitchen. She narrowed her eyes at him in a playful glare as she walked to the refrigerator.

“It was not _ terribly _late.”

“It was well after ten o’clock in the evening by the time you arrived home,” he said, pointedly, raising his eyebrows at her when she rolled her eyes and looked away to grab the almond milk. 

“You’re one to talk,” she said, going back over to where her mug was steaming. It irked him slightly that she had not brought it with her, the inefficiency of her moving back and forth across the kitchen making him tighten the corners of his mouth as she proceeded to dismiss his concerns. “You’re a textbook workaholic.” 

“I beg your pardon,” he said, setting down his cup as he stepped closer in order to be able to move his hands while he continued. “I go to work, I leave my job _ in a timely manner _, and when a student or other member of the faculty need me I am there, but I do not stay at the office until well after the university itself is closed! And-”

“I’m not talking about your day job, Harry,” Macy said, grinning at him in amusement from behind her mug. “How late were you and Mel up last night talking about werewolves, again?” 

“That is completely different,” he protested. “Helping you three with your duties is not simply a job. The fate of the world depends upon whether or not-”

“So when did you go home?” 

Harry stared at her for a long moment, then shut his mouth, looking away. He sniffed, shrugging as he turned to busy himself with getting the plates onto the table. “I don’t know, I didn’t check the time.”

“Oh, come on, Harry,” Macy said, the sound of victory clear in her tone. It made a warm blush begin the creep up his neck. “The first step to any problem is admitting that you have one.”

“I hardly think helping your sister understand a complex integrated hierarchy of a magical community to be classified as ‘_ a problem _,’” he said, giving her his best unimpressed look as he turned back for the other two plates. She smiled at him, bright and shiny in the morning sunlight that steamed in through the window just behind her. The scene made him pause, made him realize how...domestic this all felt.

Routine. 

They stared at one another for a long, quiet moment. The smile slowly died down on Macy’s face. It didn’t quite disappear so much as it did transform into something less amused, not as wide. Small, private, as if it was dedicated to this moment alone. To Harry himself. He felt something break over in his chest, a warm cascade coating every last inch until he could feel it melting down to his toes, urging him to move and close the gap sitting between them. 

A squealing sound broke the moment, making both of them turn to find Maggie sitting down in her chair reaching for the syrup. 

“Chocolate chip pancakes! Harry, you’re the best!” Maggie said. Her nose scrunched up in her excitement, “Ugh, these are exactly what I need before my Psychophysiology mid-term.” 

“You’ve been studying very diligently, Maggie, I have no doubt that you will do splendidly,” he told her.

“Yeah, you’ve practically done nothing but study and post about how much you’ve been studying all week,” Macy added, handing Harry a mug. He set it down in front of Maggie, and picked up the pitcher of orange juice to pour it into the empty glass beside it. She smiled at the both of them. 

“Awh, thanks guys,” she sighed, shoving another forkful of pancakes into her mouth. “I’m just really stressed. With my classes and Kappa and Parker calling and being the whole governing body to everyone and their grandma’s she-beast -”

“I think you can handle a test, Maggie,” Mel cut in when she entered the kitchen. She shared a look with the youngest sister as she moved to stand beside Macy, grabbing the pot of coffee from behind her. “If you can memorize a whole book about mermaids, you’ll be fine. Just don’t overthink and second guess yourself.” 

Macy moved out of the way of Mel, rounding the island in order to join her sister at the table. Harry watched her, and upon realizing he was doing so began to clean up the mess of pots and pans. 

“Oh,” she mumbled when she took a bite of her food. The other three turned to look at Macy, Harry with wide eyes as fear struck him like a match being lit aflame. Had he gotten it wrong? No_ . _ He knew that she liked blueberry pancakes, she had just been telling him the other day how her father would make them for her. 

“What’s up, Mace?” Mel asked as she took her seat at the table. Maggie leaned in, a hand creeping across the table towards Macy, who looked up to find Harry. Her eyebrows were creased, eyes wide.

“Blueberry?” 

“I– ” Harry swallowed, removing the apron he had untied from around his waist over his head to bunch up between his hands. He looked from one sister to the next as both Mel and Maggie turned to look at him in confusion. Under their scrutiny he felt flustered, moving quickly toward the table with a hand outstretched, prepared to take Macy’s plate. “I apologize. I thought you had told me they were your favorite, I can make you something else-”

“No!” Macy said, raising a hand to keep him from touching her plate. She laughed, shaking her head. “No, oh my gosh, no! I just- I don’t know why it surprised me so much. I didn’t even remember telling you that...”

“Hey! And mine are banana,” Mel said, having cut into her stack of pancakes. She smiled up at Harry. “My favorite.” 

“Duh, he’s Harry,” Maggie said, rolling her eyes at her sisters as if this was an excuse enough for him being hyper aware of such details.

His blush had reached his cheeks now, skin uncomfortably warm under his collar and suddenly too tight tie. Harry ducked his head, making dismissive noises as he turned around. Relief coursed through him as the girls continued on, a new topic of discussion already underway. 

“Harry, come eat!” Maggie chirped at him when he tried to continue to clean the kitchen. She waved him over and he had no choice but to take his place at the table beside Melanie. 

As the conversation about the incoming hot weather and Global Warming and concern for the environment, and therefore the magical creatures who still lived outside of urban society, (_ “The poor unicorns,” Maggie sighed _,) died down Harry had almost forgotten about what he was supposed to be informing his charges of. 

It was when Macy’s foot nudged his from underneath the table, making the both of them stiffen at the contact, that he was reminded. The feeling that had lingered from the normality of the morning had been torn away, leaving only the awkwardness that had been sitting between them. 

“Ladies,” he said abruptly, causing all of their attention to snap to him from nearly finished plates, “I have something I need to discuss with the three of you.”

“Sure, Har, what-” Maggie started, only to pop up from her seat. “Oh my gosh! I totally forgot! I need to drop off my clothes to Kappa!”

“What?” Mel asked, watching her sister rush her plate over to the sink as she chugged down the rest of her coffee. 

“We’re having a clothing donation drive and I need to get my bags over to the house. Ugh! I knew I should have just done it last night when Harry was here to orb them back and forth,” she rambled, jogging through the kitchen, “Bye guys! Love ya!” 

They watched from the table as Maggie struggled with her massive bags of clothing to open, get through, and shut the front door behind her. 

“I should get going, too. I agreed to do inventory this morning,” Mel sighed, standing. “You can come back tonight and talk to us about it, right?” 

Harry paused, daring to let his gaze wander over to Macy who raised her eyebrows to prompt him. He smiled, “Of course.”

Mel returned his smile, pushing in her chair, “But only if it’s good news. If it’s bad news I don’t want to hear it. We’ve already got that meeting with the Ogres next week that I’m not excited about.”

“Oh, don’t remind me,” Macy groaned, following in her sister’s footsteps to the kitchen sink to drop off their plates. “That whole territorial talk still has my brain reeling.”

“Yes, well, Ogres are worse about others being in their space than werewolves,” Harry said. “You’ve got to go into the negotiations strong if you have any intention of keeping them within the borders of Clydesdale. Otherwise we might have a massive growth in their clan, and that would-” 

“_ Upset the balance of the Magical World and bring about catastrophic consequences _,” Mel and Macy recited together, echoing what Harry had been preaching to them ever since they had been deemed the new leaders. 

He stood, giving them both a look, then waved his hand at them in dismissal. “Both of you, get to work.”

Mel shared a look with Macy making them both break into a fit of giggles as they retreated out of the kitchen and away from their annoyed Whitelighter.

He watched the pair of them go, sighing as he raised his eyes to the ceiling. Tonight, he supposed, it would have to wait for tonight. For now he needed to clean the kitchen and get to his first class.

\--

He had just been packing up for the day, having had a wonderful conversation with a student about her inquiries over her thesis, when Maggie’s voice shouting for him made him drop everything. 

With a snap, a rushing sensation, he appeared out by the lake. The brisk summer air blew hot air across his face to force the smell of the water into his lungs. Below him was wood, and below that water. He was on the dock that led out to where people had their boats parked. 

“Harry!” he heard Maggie yelp from behind him, making him twist around. She was on her knees, leaning over the docks as something down below splashed with such force it seemed to yank her forwards. Then there was the yelling. A man’s. “Harry! Help! I can’t hold him!”

He was already crouching down beside her, eyes widening as he saw the scene. A man was there, clutching onto Maggie’s arm with both hands as his feet kicked under him. 

“It has my leg!” the man yelled, clearly in pain. And if he was correct in his thinking at the sight of the darkened water, whatever had hold of his leg was making him bleed profusely. 

Harry reached down, gripping onto the man’s arm and with one glance at Maggie they both heaved in sync. It was as if they were playing a very morally wrong game of tug-of-war with whatever was in the water. Several moments passed until the opposing force let go and he and Maggie had the man pulled up onto the dock. 

Maggie let out a sobbing noise when the man continued to yell, lifting himself up onto his elbows to stare down at himself. Large chunks of his leg were missing, the remaining exposed bone and muscle showing beside where the wood of the docks was quickly becoming painted in the dark red of his blood as it poured from the wounds. 

Harry scooted away from Maggie in order to heal the man. White light appeared from his palm as he passed his hand over the man’s leg until it stopped bleeding and the pieces that had been torn off were replaced anew. 

There was a brief pause filled with heavy breathing between the three of them, until the man finally seemed to come to his senses.

“What the _ fuck _? How did you do that? What was that? What the fu-” 

Harry lifted his hand again, this time clearing the man’s memory. He stopped talking, flopping back onto the dock, out cold. 

“Shock,” he assured Maggie, who had looked up at him with wide eyes. He reached down for her, assisting in pulling her up to her feet. He had not expected her to wrap her arms around him, or to have her burying her face into his chest as she began to cry. Harry returned the embrace, one arm wrapping around her shoulders while he used his other hand to smooth over her hair. 

“I could feel it,” she sniffled after her sobs had began to slow, shaky breaths taking their places. “All of it. His fear. Panic. The pain. It was so awful. But I-I...I couldn’t just let him go, he would have died.”

“I know,” he assured her, allowing her to step back so he could get his handkerchief from his breast pocket to offer her. She took it, wiping it under her eyes and over her cheeks. “It’s alright. He’s safe. For now. But if whatever tried to drown him comes back, I think it best we move him.” 

“Right,” she nodded. “I...I’ll go get the people who work here. Say he like, passed out into the water in front of us or something.” 

“Good,” Harry said, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll be right here when you get back, alright?”

She smiled at him, and then turned away, off to go get help. He got to work getting rid of any evidence of fowl play. He removed the blood from the water and wood first, doing his best to get every bit of it so as not to raise any suspicions whatsoever. 

Lucky there was no one around them for the trail of memory loss to branch out even further. 

As he crouched down to snap his fingers at the man, trying to remove the blood from his clothes, something caught his eyes on the man’s board shorts. He reached forwards, plucking it from the hole in the fabric that had been ripped.

It was thin, but sharp. Translucent. 

He went to inspect it closer, but the sounds of shoes on the wood had him fumbling to put it into his pant pocket as he stood to meet Maggie and her calvary, several workers who he assumed ran the place though they were dressed too casually for him to really tell. 

“See?” she said and pointed at the man. “He just tipped over into the water!”

“Nathan,” an older gentleman that stood at the front of the little group groused. “Yeah, he works for me. Thank you folks for fishing him outta there. Idiot probably would have drowned had it not been for you.”

“Of course,” Harry dismissed, eyeing Maggie who caught his stare and joined him on the other side of the man. “It’s no trouble. He seems to be breathing. I think perhaps he just hit his head on something while he took the tumble. There’s no sign of any injury.”

“He’ll come ‘round in a minute, I’m sure,” the man said, then turned to Maggie. “Sorry to give you such a scare. Thank you, again. You don’t gotta stick around. I’ll make sure he gets back inside.”

And with that Harry and Maggie retreated, allowing the workers to attend to the man while they walked back up to the mainland, up the trail to the parking lot where Maggie’s car was. 

“What happened?” he asked once they were in the car, seatbelts fastened. Maggie clutched the steering wheel, allowing it to steady her before she launched into an explanation.

“I only came here because Lucy needed me to drop of a guest list with all the menu and dietary requirements needed, right?” she paused at the look Harry on his face. “Oh. Right, Kappa is hosting a party down here. It’s a whole thing. Anyways, I passed that guy on the way through. He was, like, totally giving me Josh Duhamel vibes from _ Safe Haven _. I asked him where the restaurant was, and he gave me directions. We had, like, a nice conversation, and when I came back he-” 

Maggie turned her head, eyes searching until they landed on something. Harry looked, too, in order to see what made her expression soften. He watched the scene down at the docks, the workers all crowded around the man, who had seemed to reawaken, sitting up and looking at all the people around him. 

“He was screaming,” Maggie whispered. “He was hanging onto the dock, his legs being pulled into the water, I guess, I couldn’t see anything but his upper half trying to keep him from going in. And by the time I got there he had let go, and I wasn’t strong enough and I couldn’t- I didn’t know any spell that would help so I-I-” 

“It’s alright, Maggie,” Harry shushed her, pressing a smile to his face when she finally looked up at him with glassy eyes. He wished with a fierce desperation that he could prevent her from having to see such atrocities. Maggie, more than any empath he had ever crossed, felt deeply, as if everyone’s emotions were not only her own but apart of her. He could not think of how present the man’s feelings must have been when he had been about to die, how they must have overwhelmed her.

And yet she had clung to him, not allowing whatever it was under the surface to take him with it. Pride bloomed in his chest, only to be overtaken by the need to get her away from the lake as soon as possible. “You saved him. He’s going to be just fine. Come on, let’s get you home. We need to inform your sisters.” 

\--

Maggie sat between Mel and Macy, both had their arms wrapped around their younger sister who had changed into her pajamas after a shower.

“Thanks, guys,” she said, her voice soft. “I don’t know why it shook me up so much he was just...he seemed so nice. I want to know what could have done this.”

“And if it was anything supernatural,” Mel agreed, pulling away from her sister. She ran a hand over her hair, turning to Harry, “What was it you found?”

“This,” he said, producing a vial he had put the piece of matter in for safe keeping. Macy rose from her spot on the couch, eyes narrowing as she pressed closer. Harry felt his heart jump at the sight of her proximity, but he did not break. Not even as their fingers touched when he passed the vile into her possession.

She held it up to the light, tilting her head. Then suddenly she was moving towards the front door. 

“Macy?” Maggie called, “What is it?”

“It’s a scale!” Macy replied, grabbing her keys and purse, “I need to get to the lab to get a closer look at it, but it looks like it’s a fish scale of some kind.” 

“Scale?” Mel asked. Harry pursued Macy, crossing into the foyer from the living room as she grabbed for the door handle. Mel and Maggie followed after, coming up on either side of him.

“I won’t know what kind until I can get a better look, run a few tests to see what the DNA matches up with in the university’s database,” Macy rambled, pulling the door open.

“Wait! Macy! The university is closed, it’s like, way passed work hours,” Maggie said, running forwards to put a hand on her sister’s arm. “And what if it does something funky to you? Whatever that thing belongs to tried to eat someone!” 

“I’ll be okay, Maggie,” Macy said. “If it hasn’t done anything yet I don’t think it will when I start breaking it apart.” 

“Do you want us to come with you?” Mel asked.

“No! Stay. Eat something and go to sleep. I’ll text you guys when I get the results back!” Macy called, already down the steps from the front porch. Harry heard the other two sisters sigh and return back to the living room, Maggie asking to change the subject onto Mel’s current, very complicated love life. He stayed at the door, watching as Macy got into the car and backed out of the driveway, off towards the university where she would inevitably work all night. Briefly he allowed the idea of orbing to the lab to check up on her later to sit in his mind, the excuse of wanting a progress report sitting right there for him to take. 

It was one of his favorite settings, truly. Not the lab specifically, but watching Macy as she worked. Her mind was beautiful and being able to watch it in action, either trying to piece together a puzzle or taking in new information to make sense, it was quite a thing to behold. Of course that was nothing in comparison to when she was able to explain her findings, her eyes lighting up as he voice pulled you in to hang on every word, even if you did not understand her vernacular. It was a simple joy to hear her talk with such passion. Harry had grown very fond of her mind, often prompting her to tell him about what she was working on to hear that tone of voice and watch her hands float about as she animated her explanations. And he would not allow himself to interrupt her for clarification, not wanting to stop her flow. Lately she had seemed to catch on that she was the smartest one in the room when it came to her work and would slow down every so often or give sidenotes to allow her sisters and Harry in on what was making her so excited. Or exhausted, depending on the day. 

He closed the door when he could no longer see the red of her break lights, and turned back to find that the Vera sisters were watching him.

“Well, I suppose if you will no longer be needing my presence I will leave you,” he told them, raising a hand to snap his fingers. Mel shared a look with Maggie who then turned her eyes to Harry. And, oh, she was really laying on the puppy dog eyes? He sighed, “Yes, Maggie?”

“It’s just that...I’ve had such a rough day today, what with the almost witnessing a murder and my mid-terms and Kappa and everything, that I was wondering if you would stay and make Pad Thai?” 

There was a brief pause where he thought about his plan from his morning before he broke, “Very well.”

Maggie clapped her hands, bouncing over in the direction of the kitchen, “Yay! I’ll get the tofu from the fridge!” 

\--

Macy had returned the following morning, looking a little worse for wear having gotten home very late that night. She yawned widely, taking another pour of coffee from the pot as they all gathered around her computer, waiting for her to explain to them what exactly was on the screen.

“It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before,” she started, tapping at the laptop’s screen to enlarge the photo of the specimen. Under the lights in the lab the scale seemed to shine blue and green. “It is definitely a scale of some sort, but I couldn’t match it up to any one species of fish. And while the DNA lines up largely with the sequence of the Chordata Phylum and the Vertebrata Subphylum, this is where it gets weird, it _also_ holds sequences for Mammalia and Primates!” 

A beat.

“So what you’re saying is, whatever that scale came off of, is both fish and...monkey?” Maggie asked. 

“Well, I would bet more humanoid, but yes! Essentially!” Macy beamed and Harry couldn’t stop the soft smile that took to his features. 

“Oh my god!” Maggie exclaimed, making Macy’s attention jump away from him to point a concerned look at her sister. He allowed himself the moment to get a grip on his heart, though it felt like a bar of soap trying to escape as he squeezed it into submission, and also directed his attention to the youngest sister. “Mermaids!” 

“Ah,” he winced, looking back to the scale. “But I’ve never heard of any known species of lake dwelling mermaids to be quite so brash with their actions. Sirens, Deep Sea, or even Arctic species have been known to attack humans, and other beings, but they should be no where near here.” 

“Right,” Maggie nodded, “and I totally would have heard a Siren’s song calling out. But it just grabbed him off the dock! That’s not really a Siren’s MO, they let the guys do all the work.” 

Harry smiled at her, impressed. She caught his look and wrinkled her nose, “I _ did _ read a whole book on them, you know.” 

“So what do we know about Lake Mermaids?” Mel cut in.

“Well, they’re supposed to be the most sociable kind of mermaids, but like to stick to their pods, which can be up to like 50 mermaids,” Maggie said, her eyes cast upwards as she tried to recall all the information she had stored away. “They’re supposed to be more – what’s the word? Civilized? Than oceanic mermaids since they’re all closer together and don’t have, you know, all the terrifying things in the ocean to worry about so they can focus on more things other than surviving.” 

“Very good, Maggie,” Harry said when it seemed she had finished. She flipped her hair, eyeing Mel with a cocky look in her eye. “They are usually very good with camouflage due to lakes being quite close quarters. Greenish skin, blue, green, or even brown tails depending on how murky the lakes they live in are. Most often have countershading as well. But this seems very out of character for a mermaid, their diets do not tend to be-”

“Flesh?” Macy asked, eyebrows scrunched in. 

“Human flesh, anyway,” he shrugged. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Macy pressing her lips together in order to hide a smile. 

Maggie shuddered beside Mel, who said, “I think we should talk to Dollar Store Josh Duhamel. If he’s living the Grimm Brothers’ version of _ The Little Mermaid _ then maybe he’ll confess to seeing something fishy.” 

“I’ll stay here, look up mermaids in the Book of Shadows to see if it can give us any insight as to why this one might have gotten the munchies for humans,” Macy said. Maggie and Mel nodded and then turned to Harry with expectant eyes. His eyes lingered on the eldest sister for a moment longer but she was already focused on shutting her laptop, not paying attention to him. 

And why would she? He had to remind himself that he was nothing more than her Whitelighter, and who knew for how much longer. 

“Right,” he said. “I’ll drive.” 

\--

It was rather easy to find the man from yesterday. He was tying up a boat to the dock and waved them down, running after the trio in order to thank Maggie and Harry for saving him. Though he had no clear recollection of it himself due to Harry’s handy work he had been able to recognize them and get the rest of the story from his co-workers. He was very gracious, his dimples charming Maggie while Mel rolled her eyes and made snarky comments under her breath. 

As it turned out the low budget Josh Duhamel’s name was actually Nathan Miller. And no matter how many times they prompted the man to tell them about an encounter with something weird or off about the lake he gave nothing away. Even Maggie, who would occasionally pretend to trip in her heels along the wooden docks to brush against Mr. Miller, wasn’t able to tell that he had ever encountered a mermaid. 

They were only able to get the simplest of information out of him. He had lived on a boat all his life, having taken over his father’s company when he passed away. He was recently single, but did have a dog that he pointed out to be following after an older woman along the patio of the restaurant on the water. His favorite music was country, he enjoyed the water, even in the winter when it would freeze over and everyone came down for ice skating instead of swimming, and he liked people. It was what kept the business going for a lake set in Michigan that wasn’t one of the Greats. 

After about an hour of conversation and taking a tour around the docks without seeing anything out of sorts they bid the man farewell and returned to the parking lot. 

“What a bust,” Mel griped as she stalked toward their car. Harry hummed his agreement. 

“Perhaps Macy has had better luck,” he said. Just as Mel’s hand touched the door’s handle someone screamed. 

They looked out to the dock, only to find Miller running out from the restaurant along with a group of onlookers. Harry followed their line of sight out to a boat that looked as if it had been returning. Someone seemed to be struggling in the water while others on the boat were trying to help them. 

“What do we do?” Maggie asked, voice going higher in pitch with her growing anxiety. “We can’t get out there quick enough!” 

“I’ll just-” Mel started, her hand raising.

“No!” Harry yelled to stop her. “We’ve no idea how powerful this creature is or if your powers will affect them. If you freeze time it could be giving them the opening they need to devour that person.”

“Then what do you want to do?” she asked, annoyance trying to cover the worry. Harry sighed, and then shrugged out of his blazer and kicked off his shoes. The screaming continued, this time followed by yelling from the crowd on the dock. 

“After I’ve orbed count to ten and then freeze time,” he said. When he did not get verbal confirmation he turned to look at Mel. She shook her head, mouth opening to say something but Harry cut her off, knowing what she was going to say. It touched him that she was looking after his safety, but an innocent life was far more important than his, “We haven’t any time to argue over this Melanie.” 

“Fine,” she huffed. He nodded, looked to Maggie who could only look at him with wide eyes. Harry took in a deep breath and snapped his fingers. 

It was quite the sensation to orb from dry land to be completely submerged under water. The water was murky, making it hard to see but he managed as best he could. Above him were legs, struggling to kick at the water, arms working to propel themselves back towards the larger dark area above him to what he assumed was the boat. He began to swim towards the person, but something brushed his leg. 

His attention snapped downwards but whatever had been there was gone, nothing but a blur in the distance. Only it circled back around, a high pitched squealing sound overtaking the waters. Above him came a garbled yelling. Harry swam towards the person, his clothing heavy and constricting, his motions awkward and clumsy. He never really did care much for swimming but it had been required to learn as a Whitelighter. As well as CPR training, among other things. 

One never knew what their charge was going to need, after all. They had to have a wide variety of skill sets at the ready. 

By the time Harry reached the person’s foot the screeching sound grew louder and he could feel something grab hold of of his shirt, yanking him back. It swam around him, getting in between him and the retreating form up above. 

They had long dark hair that floated around a rounded face. Their skin tone was not as he had described it, they were pale, almost to the point of translucency as their blue veins were clear to see. The large blueish-green scales ran all over their body, formed like armor. Their eyes, instead of the usual iris one would find a mermaid to have, one that was close to humans especially being of the lake dwelling species, they were all white and were glowing. They also did not have a tail. Instead they had long legs that ended with webbed feet. 

They sneered at Harry, and that was another odd difference in the appearance. Their teeth were sharp, like that of a predator where lake mermaids were supposed to be like humans. Omnivores. The screeching sound emerged from their mouth as it chomped its jaws at Harry, swiping a hand with long nails at him. He shut his eyes, waiting for the pain, but when it didn’t come, he opened them once more. 

The creature was frozen in place. 

Mel. 

Harry kicked his feet under the water, clawing to get to the air above. When his head finally breached the surface he sucked in breath after breath, spitting out any water that tried to get passed. He turned himself this way and that, finding a man in the water behind him mid-swim as he tried to get to where his friends were frozen in position at the edge, seemingly encouraging him on instead of having gotten into the water to help him. 

He swam over, grabbed hold of the man, and orbed him into the boat. He flinched hard at the sound of something splashing. Peering over the side of the boat he saw the creature, frozen once again. He had no time to think, knowing the distance was taking a toll on Mel. 

It was powerful enough to break Mel’s spell, if only here and there. Still. It would be enough. He needed to get the innocents out of the range of danger. 

Or, get the source of danger out of the ranger of the innocents. At least enough to give them time to get back to the docks. 

He orbed, grabbing hold of the creature, and orbing once again away from the boat. When they appeared farther away into the lake the creature broke out of his grip with a swipe of her claws against his arm, and shot off into the water with a powerful kick from their feet that propelled Harry backwards. 

He snapped his fingers and stumbled back, his shoulder hitting the side of the car.

“Harry!” Maggie and Mel said. Maggie jogged over to him, her hands grabbing hold of his shoulders in order to keep him from falling to the sandy ground waiting for him. He smiled at her in thanks, trying to use the car to prop himself up.

“I’m alright,” he assured them, using a hand to wipe the water from his eyes and smooth his hair back out of his face. He panted, his lungs wanting both everything and nothing, “I’m alright.”

“What happened?” Maggie asked. He looked down at his arm that the sisters were focused on. His white shirt torn and stained red with his blood. Around them time restarted, allowing Mel to give her full attention to her Whitelighter. She came to stand beside her sister, eyes going wide at the sight of his arm, too.

“We...were wrong,” he said, choked, in between breaths, “it seems we’ve...got something more sinister inhabiting the Hilltowne lake.” 

“It did that to you?” Mel said, incredulous. He could see the rage forming on her face, in the way her hands curled into fists. 

“Yes, but there was something else,” Harry continued. He coughed, trying to dislodge the remaining lake water from his lungs. “It looked as if it were part demonic.” 

\--

“So not only do we have a being that’s part fish, part human, you’re telling me that it was part demon, too?” Macy said before she scoffed, shaking her head. “There must be something in the water.” 

She had sat Harry down at the kitchen table when he, Maggie, and Mel had returned home. Maggie had brought him a towel to wrap around him and Mel had gotten the First Aid Kit Macy had required them to keep in the closet under the stairs. She had cut his sleeve, despite his protests in wanting a shower and to change out of his wet clothing first, and was working on cleaning his wounds. 

He flinched, wincing as she poured more cleaning alcohol into the cuts. 

“Stop being such a baby,” she commanded, her attention focused down on his arm as she wiped the muck away from his skin, blood and dirt staining the white gauze. 

“I’m not being a baby,” Harry said in his defense, aghast that she would say such a thing to him, “But I must say you lack a gentle touch.” 

Maggie giggled beside him. Macy glanced up to glare at both of them. 

“We need to figure this possessed mermaid thing out, and fast,” Mel said, plopping down in the chair across from Harry with her laptop. “There’s no telling who else it’ll go after. Is there any connection between the two they’ve already tried to kill? Did Nathan say he had a brother or cousin or douchey friend he had to employ to keep him from becoming an alcoholic?” 

“Actually,” Maggie said, waving her phone around, “I was just looking at the restaurant's Facebook and they tagged those guys in a photo from earlier today. Harry, you said it was the guy with the ugly swim trunks?”

“Yes,” he said, shifting away from Macy in order to get a better look at Maggie’s phone. He stopped when a pressure on his hand tightened, returning his eyes to Macy who now had her fingers curled around his palm. She would not look up at him, but quickly released him at the pause. 

“Stop moving,” she muttered, returning to her task. Beside him he could feel Maggie’s hand brushing against his sleeve and did his best to turn his thoughts towards the demonic mermaid instead of Macy’s touch. If she had heard his yearning, the younger Vera gave no tell. 

He cleared his throat and only turned his head to look at Maggie’s phone once more. He used his free hand to point to the man who had been in the water from earlier.

“That’s him.”

Maggie pulled her phone back to her, resting her elbows on the table to tap away at the screen with her thumbs. After a couple of seconds she sighed.

“There’s nothing special about him, either,” she said, presumably scrolling down his page, a deep frown down turning the corners of her mouth. “Works out a lot and takes way too many gym selfies. Major in Criminal Justice. Is in a relationship with...oh, ew. He has a post from like three weeks ago that says he was going to get married, but his more recent posts are with a totally different girl.”

“Apparently there was a body found on the other side of the lake a few weeks ago,” Mel said, reading off of her laptop to what was presumably some kind of news article or police report. “It says that the guy, Jason McNeely, was found dead after he didn’t come back with his kayak rental. Cause of death, multiple lacerations to the body which lead him to bleed out on the lake. His late fiance and son were devastated to hear the news. He was an Elementary school teacher.”

“No connection,” Maggie groaned, dropping her phone to the table and allowing her head to follow after it. “None of them are even friends with one another on here.” 

Harry considered the information, but he couldn’t quite wrap his brain around the case as pain struck his nerves every few minutes as Macy scrubbed at his cuts. She looked so focused, having barely contributed to the conversation. Finally she set down the wipes and picked up the bandages. She looked up at him with expectant eyes and he did not have to guess at what she wanted. He held his arm up above the table for her. She placed the gauze over his cuts making the already very sensitive area all the more overwhelmed.

“I don’t understand why we can’t just heal you,” she said as she began to wind the bandage around his arm. Her touch felt feather light on his skin, but her movements were precise. He found himself trying to apply more pressure to her fingers, allowing his arm to sink lower as if the weight of holding it up was getting to him. “Or why you can’t heal yourself.”

“Personal gain, Macy,” he explained once more. She rolled her eyes, making him turn away, no longer wanting to annoy her while she had his arm in her hold. Harry swallowed down the lump that was threatening to form in his throat, “Erm, didn’t Mr. Miller say he had just gotten out of a relationship?” 

“What does that have to do with anything?” Mel asked. 

“Oh my, god. Duh!” Maggie said, jumping up from her seat. They all watched as she trotted over to the coffee table in the living room and then returned with a large book. She dumped in onto the kitchen table and flipped it open. After several instances of flipping pages, reading over something, and then moving somewhere else, she squeaked. “Here!” 

“_ Undines _?” Mel read, then looked up at her sister with furrowed brows. “What’s that?”

“They’re an elemental being! Not just mermaids. I mean, they can be mermaids, but they don’t always have to be. Harry, you said that they had glowing eyes?” He gave a nod. “It says here that Undines don’t have souls, which is what allows them to live longer lives. And the only way they can get a soul is if they form a union with a human and share theirs. But – and here’s the real kicker – if the human is unfaithful to the Undine they’re fated to die. If an Undine’s soul has been removed and they do not seek help, they can become revenge driven in search of getting back the soul that was stolen from them.” 

“Owch,” Mel said. “Well, no wonder it’s been all male victims.”

“Says the girl who’s ex-girlfriend cheated on her fiancee with.” 

“Hey! That is not my fault-” 

“Guys, I don’t think now is the time,” Macy suggested, reigning her sisters back in. “So you think this mermaid is an Undine who had their heart broken by these three guys?”

“That wouldn’t make any sense, though,” Mel continued, following in Macy’s lead by ignoring Maggie’s comment. “If they’re _ fated to die _ or whatever, then why are they the ones attacking them? And if they had tried to marry ugly swimsuit guy or Josh Duhamel, why hasn’t whoever they got with first died yet?” 

“Maybe they had both of them as side chicks?” Maggie suggested then shook her head to answer her own question, “No, because they’re so strict about infidelity it wouldn’t make sense to do it themselves.” 

“Statistically speaking that’s nearly impossible for a failing rate of 100%,” Macy said. 

“Love can’t be formatted in statistics, Mace,” Maggie shrugged. “People are what they are. Maybe the mermaid just has really terrible taste in men.” 

“So how are we supposed to break something that’s fated to be?” Mel asked, looking to Harry now. “These guys sold their souls away, right? And it was their choice to be unfaithful. If we try to mess with the universe, won’t it try to right itself anyways? Is there even anything we can do to help?” 

“Of course there is,” Maggie insisted, also turning to Harry and urging him with her eyes to agree. “We’re the Charmed Ones, there’s always something we can do.” 

Harry stayed silent, unsure of what to say in a situation such as this. Mel was correct in her thinking, but so was Maggie. On one hand it was not their job to figure out a way to cheat fate but on the other that had been their bread and butter ever since the four of them had been brought together. 

Harry and Macy had been resurrected, leaving Death to find them another day. 

Mel had turned back the sands of time to give Niko a second chance. 

Maggie had accepted Parker, a demon who had betrayed her trust, for who he was and loved him anyways. 

They had all, in their own ways, flipped fate on its head to give the universe the metaphorical middle finger. 

“I do believe Maggie is correct on this one,” he said. “If there is anyone who is going to be able to save these men, it’s you three.” 

“Well, I don’t know about the whole fate thing but I think I know of a way to trap the Undine,” Macy said. “The Book of Shadows has a spell that when put on a net or cage it keeps the magic of that being from being used while they’re captured in it. We could try and talk to one of them? Maybe see if we can come to some sort of understanding?” 

“Ah, I don’t know about communication,” Harry frowned, remembering the sound the creature had let free at the sight of him. It still had his ears ringing. “But, uh, perhaps Maggie might be able to use her powers to bring them back to something less demonic so we might have a civil conversation.”

“Damn it,” the sister in question sighed. “Why do I always have to touch the icky ones?” 

\--

They returned to the lake the following night, the moon over head was nothing more than a crescent in size, the sheer clouds hiding it from view. There was no one out on the water, the usual end of summer noises that overtook the lake in the day were gone in the later hours. It was only the subtle squeaks of wood, boats hitting against the dock, water lapping up at the sides of them, and the occasional squawk of a Sandhill Crane off in the distance. 

Had they been here under better circumstances Harry would have been fascinated to see it. 

The plan was this: Maggie and Mel were going to lure the creature out and Harry was going to assist Macy as she used her powers to cast the enchanted net out onto the water. With the Undine’s powers temporarily disabled Maggie would then attempt to use her own to reach the humanity within the creature, and if that did not work they would work to vanquish the demon as needed. 

But, of course, nothing had worked in their favor. Especially not when they realized that Nathan Miller was in the middle of being attacked as they approached the water. 

The race to get to him put a suffocating blanket of panic over the Charmed Ones. Mel had tried to freeze time, but the mermaid kept breaking her hold. Maggie struggled to get the net untangled but her shaky hands and only two day old nails were making it rather difficult. Macy was attempting to use her powers to throw Mr. Miller objects to reel him in but the man seemed to have no logical process and simply continued to yell instead of listening to her trying to tell him how to help himself. 

Harry, upon seeing no other option, snapped his fingers.

What followed was quite unpleasant. The terrible noise emitted by the Undine filled his ears as he tried to claw his way back to the surface. When he did manage to breach the water again it was to find himself only a few meters away from the Undine, who was staring at him with their eyes above the water, glowing bright in the darkness. 

“Mr. Miller,” Harry said, doing his best to keep his voice low and calm. “Please grab hold.”

There was a pause, only the water moving around them. He kept his eyes on the mermaid for a second longer and then, upon seeing the corner of their mouth quirk, snapped his attention to the man. 

“_ Now!” _

It seemed to be the push that Mr. Miller needed because he didn’t make a sound as he reached for Harry. His fingers tightened around Harry’s wrist. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the Undine had lunged for them through the water, having heard the subtle splash of them diving under. They were quick, but he was quicker. 

He orbed back to the shore where the sisters gathered around. Somewhere in the distance the screeching of an angry Undine sounded out in a warning of what was to come. 

“Harry!” Mel gasped, already on her knees beside him as he turned to his side to cough, water knocking loose from where it had snuck down his throat. Beside him, still clinging to his sleeve, was Mr. Miller who had shot up into a sitting position, looking from one sister to the next.

“Who the hell are you people!” 

“Harry, are you okay?” Mel said, completely ignoring the innocent. Harry managed a nod, feeling her hand on his shoulder. It had not been as intensive a meeting as the last, and with Mel’s help he got to his feet. Macy was at his side, too, her hand picking up his arm that was still bandaged underneath his shirt and blazer. 

He was going to need to do some serious maintenance on the past two sets of clothing he had ruined by submerging it into this lake water. 

“Guys!” Maggie yelled to gain their attention. “They’re coming!” 

Everyone’s head turned to look out onto the water to spot the moving figure gaining ground on them where they were located on the shore. He had seen the damage the creature could do, had seen the unmerciful look in their clouded eyes, and felt the need to raise his arms to collect the two sisters and pull them behind him. 

“Maggie, get away from the edge!” he told her, holding out his hand to her. She moved, jogging across the wooden planks to join her sisters and Nathan Miller. 

“We need to get him out of here,” Mel said, though Harry could hear the annoyance in her voice. “Come on! We can deal with them when we have the net untangled!” 

“You three go,” Harry insisted, turning away from the water to heard the four of them back toward the parking lot. “I’ll stay here with the net and call when I’ve got them trapped.”

“And how are you planning on doing that?” Macy argued. 

“I’ll orb-”

“No way!” Mel stepped up now. “We are not leaving you here to deal with that thing alone!” 

“Melanie, I am fully capable of attending to the capture of a magical being under the influence of something more sinister. I’m your Whitelighter, it is apart of my job to provide you with the assistance you need, and right now you three need to attend to your duties of saving this man while I stay here and attend to this matter,” he said, bending forwards a little as he tried to make his point very clear. Harry looked from one sister’s eyes to the next to see that they were all in agreement, though could not say it aloud. Behind them he could hear the splashing, the angry growls. They had no more time to waste. “Now, go!” 

The sisters looked at one another and then at Nathan Miller, who was cowering behind them with his eyes most likely fixated on the incoming creature. With one last raise of Harry’s eyebrows they moved, Mel shoving at Mr. Miller’s shoulder to get him to get a move on. Once they had reached the stairs that led them from the beach to the docks Harry felt it safe to turn his eyes away from them. He walked forward, wading up to his thighs in the water to meet the Undine. 

So, of course, when he did that, Maggie screamed. 

When he looked back up the sisters had hold of Mr. Miller’s under his arms as hands pulled at his leg. He squinted, taking a step closer to see that…

There were two pairs of hands. One for each leg. 

Harry looked back into the water to find the original Undine sitting in the water, smiling up at him. 

Dear god. 

“There’s more than one!” he yelled. 

“Yeah, no shit!” Mel yelled back, glaring at him. “What do we do?” 

“We need to get him out of here! Harry, orb him to our house or something!” Maggie said, struggling against the pull of the Undines and Mr. Miller’s flailing. He nodded, knowing that the creatures would do the girls no harm without the man they were after in their clutches. Already on the move across the docks to get to them, Harry felt something tug on the net he had gathered up in his arms. 

He knew he should have let go, that it would have been wiser to orb to them at this point even if it was only a few meters away, but he found that he could not do anything in time. The rope caught on something, tripping him with the force so that he fell onto his stomach. His chin bounced against the sand, his teeth sinking unpleasantly into his tongue and the wind getting knocked from his lungs. 

Then something had a hold of his shin and he was being pulled into the water. He scrambled, trying to get a hold of something, anything, before he was taken but it was no use. The sand shifted with him, too soft as he dug his hands in. His arms were caught between the ropes of the netting and were unable to grip onto anything. He was dragged backwards, something sharp and unpleasant sinking into the muscle of his calf. 

The last thing he heard was Macy calling out his name before the water muffled everything and, well, perhaps this would not be the most unpleasant last memory to have. 

He was pulled further and further into the water until he could no longer feel the ground beneath him. 

And then, he felt something grab hold of his shoulders to yank him backwards in opposition of the creature’s hold. They screeched in annoyance and sunk their nails deeper into his skin. He cried out, though only bubbles emerged, allowing water to take up the space in his mouth and down his throat. 

The other hold on him slipped, he could feel their hands release and then recapture him by grabbing hold of his collar. 

The screeching got louder, more angered, and then it stopped altogether. Soon it was replaced by a choking sound and he felt it release him, retreating back into the safety of the murky depths. He fell backwards, kicking himself to the surface to breathe. 

“Harry! Harry?” Macy’s worried voice said, as he blinked and coughed, trying to twist himself around to a position where he could control his limbs. His shoes touched down on the slippery bottom of the lake with her hands on his shoulders, Macy steadied him. She smiled something relieved when he focused his eyes on her. 

“What are you doing?” he asked, spitting out more water.

“Saving you from being fish food,” she replied. 

“You should not have done that,” he said, pulling out of her hold. “You do not need to be putting yourself in danger, Macy! We have no idea how many there are in the water right now and-”

“And you’re choosing to lecture me over saving your life instead of orbbing us out of the water?” 

He paused, frowning at her. She smiled at him, her chin raised in the way it did when she knew she was right. Only it disappeared quickly, her eyes catching something over his shoulder. 

He felt the net still in his hands move without his accordance, flying into the air above them. Harry looked down from it to find Macy’s attention was solely on the trap but not in worry or fear, her eyebrows were furrowed, concentrating. He swam forward to get out of her way.

She flicked her head, taking aim at the creature that was swimming at them. But the Undine was faster, disappearing below the surface with a kick of their feet against the water behind her, the net laying flat on the surface of the water.

Until it, too, disappeared down below. 

He blinked, turning to Macy to find her searching around in confusion as well. They backed up against one another, walking in a slow circle as they searched for the assailant. 

The familiar, and now simply rather redundant at this point in Harry’s opinion, noise of the demonic mermaid rang out making both he and Macy clutch at their ears in pain. The distraction was enough to render them useless when the net came around to tie them together. He watched on, helpless to stop it, as two figures swam in circles to tie the net around himself and Macy. The circle grew smaller and smaller, like a shark coming in for the kill. The netting glowed blue as it tightened around them, and Harry could feel the magic in him grow quiet as the spell they had cast on it took effect. 

Not for the first time that night he thought he was going to die. The only thing that changed his mood towards it was that if he were to die, that would mean that Macy would, too. And that...well that was not an option.

But the creatures did not attack them, they swam off, their muffled screeches taken with them. 

“Macy!” Maggie’s voice rang out from afar. Harry could not see her from his point of view, so he could only assume she was still on the beach with Mel and Mr. Miller. “Are you guys okay?”

“We’re fine!” Macy called back. “Where’s Nathan?”

“He took off when you guys distracted them. Mel tried to stop him but he got into a boat.”

“Why would he get into a boat when-?” Harry sighed in exasperation, rolling his eyes up towards the sky to ask for whoever was listening for forgiveness for thinking ill of the scared. 

“Go with Mel!” Macy said. “We’ll be okay! If they didn’t kill us like this then I don’t think they’ll circle back around.” 

“I’ll come back to get you guys! Don’t go anywhere!” 

Both he and Macy huffed in unison. He could only imagine the wince the younger Vera gave before running off after her sister and the innocent.

Somewhere in the distance there was the motor of a boat and the same incessant sound the Undines insisted on spewing.

It was then, as his heart beat started to settle and his awareness of the water seemed to make it colder, did he realize how warm the line of Macy’s back felt through his clothing. He could feel her hair tickling the back of his neck and ears when she moved her head. Every movement, every shift, every breath, he was acutely aware of. He forced himself to strain against the ropes to put as much room as they had in the give of the net between them. Unfortunately, the net was magic and only tightened against his struggling. 

“Harry?” Macy asked, her voice quiet. 

“Yes?” 

“Stop moving.”

“Right.”

The water lapped at them. The waves were not large, nor dangerous, but just enough to make the pair of them sway in the water. Where they were standing it reached just below his chest, enough to be annoying, but not enough to be worried. 

The silence began to become stifling and he could tell from the tension in her back and the way she kept sighing that Macy was annoyed. At him, most likely since she was not telling him about what else might have been occupying her mind like she normally would. 

“Macy, I’m sorry,” he started, shaking his head at himself. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like I did.” 

“No, you shouldn’t have,” she replied. He winced. Why did he always have to be right about these things? “I ruined these shoes to save you, and you didn’t even say thank you.”

“Thank you for saving my life,” he said, “and I will do my best to find you replacements.” 

“You don’t have to do that,” she sighed after another bout of silence, though this time it sounded more sad than it did angry. He tried to turn his head to catch a glimpse of her expression from the corner of his eye. It was to no avail, though, as her face was just out of sight. “I’m not annoyed that you yelled at me. I get that we’re in a high risk, high stress situation.” 

“Then what is the matter?” 

“The fact that you don’t even know is not helping your cause, Harry.” 

“I don’t understand.” 

“You were angry at me for saving your life!” 

“I was not angry at you for saving my life. I was _angry_ with you because you put yourself in harms way.”

“You were about to get drowned by a soulless mermaid! How was I supposed to just sit on the beach and watch that happen? It’s not like the sunset or some person on a jet ski, Harry, you were going to die!” she said, her voice echoing across the quietness of the night. She took a breath. 

“I was not going to die,” he said, lowering his own voice so as not to upset her any further. 

“Harry, you’ve told us that we’re your friends,” Macy said and he was startled with the change of tone, how sullen she sounded. “How could you expect us, after everything we’ve been through, to not do something when you’re in danger?” 

It was then that he was grateful that they were facing away from one another so that she could not see his face, knowing that it surely gave away the emotion that overwhelmed him in that moment. He opened his mouth, trying to get a word out, a sound, something, anything, but nothing came.

“When you came back to the house with those claw marks and told me what had happened, and just now when you wanted to stay behind....Harry, you’re not under the Elder’s rule anymore,” Macy continued, seeming to have taken his silence for his misunderstanding as to what she was saying. “You aren’t here to serve us or to die for us, or whatever other self-sacrificing mumbo jumbo the Elder’s told you you had to do as a Whitelighter.”

He frowned at that, allowing his head to fall forward as he dared to ask, “Then what am I here for?” 

“Don’t be stupid, Harry. We didn’t fight Fiona to free you just because we missed your breakfast sandwiches,” Macy said. He let out a sharp breath of amusement only to stop completely when he felt her hand search, her fingers running against his thigh until she found his hand. She curled her hand around his palm, squeezing gently. “It’s like Maggie said, you’re apart of our family now. An honorary sister. And that means that you can’t just go flinging yourself into danger for our benefit. It’s why we have one another, so we don’t have to make stupid choices. We can talk it out. Get a plan. Together.” 

“Together,” he repeated, then gave a curt nod. “Very well then.” 

Cautiously, he returned the pressure on her hold, turning his hand so that their palms slid over one another as he readjusted. He felt her shiver against him, reminding him of the temperature of the water around them. The more they sat there the more it seemed to drop. 

“We should try to get back to the shore,” he suggested. “There’s no telling what your sisters are doing, but if the Undines do change their minds about us-”

“Got it. It’s not too far away so...we should be able to make it,” she said, and he could feel her legs shifting behind him, planting themselves in the bottom of the lake. He did the same, feeling whatever it was that made the ground so slippery against the heels of his shoes in the most unpleasant way. Oh, he could not wait until he could get out of these clothes and into a shower. He imagined Macy felt the same. 

Ah...scratch that. He did not imagine that. In any way, shape, or form. 

“It’ll be like a three legged race,” she said in the tone that was usually her relying her thoughts aloud. “Follow my lead.” 

\-- 

They sat on the beach for another hour or so, going back and forth about what they could use to cut the rope, what they thought Mel and Maggie were doing, and then, after discussing food for a short moment, Macy interrupted him in the middle of a rant on their dishwasher. 

“What was it you were trying to tell us the other morning?” she asked, 

“What?” 

“The other morning. When you made us pancakes? You said you had something important to discuss with us,” Macy relayed. And, damn that wonderful memory of hers. “What was it?” 

“Ah yes...well, you see that’s-” 

“Macy! Harry!” Maggie’s voice rang out. He turned to watch her as she bound down the stairs and across the rocky beach to fall to her knees beside them, her arms coming around to envelop them in a large hug. Suddenly she gasped, pulling away, “Harry!” 

“What?” he asked, eyes wide. 

“You don’t want to be our Whitelighter anymore?” 

“_ What? _” Macy asked, and he could feel her trying to turn around, useless to do so as they were both still tied up. 

“That’s not-”

“What’s going on?” Mel said as she approached, eyebrows furrowed when she stepped up behind Maggie, who stood, crossing her arms across her chest defensively. 

“Harry doesn’t want to be our Whitelighter anymore!” 

“What? Why not?” Mel asked, looking at him with the same expression that sat on Maggie’s face. He could only imagine it echoed in Macy’s. 

He sighed heavily. “That is not true!” 

“Yes it is! I heard you thinking it!” 

“It’s not that I _ don’t _ want to be your Whitelighter, you all know that serving you three has been the greatest honor of my life, but I...I feel as though I can no longer be of value to you,” he tried to explain. Then paused, glancing up at Mel and Maggie, “I’m sorry, but this is all terribly awkward. Could one of you please-?” 

He nodded down towards the net that still bound him to Macy. 

“Oh! Sorry,” Maggie said. “_ Undo, untie, unknot. Remove these ropes, releasing what has been caught.” _

The ropes lost their tension, falling in a heap around them. They both moved, pushing themselves to their feet. He hated that his first thought was that he would no longer be in close proximity to her, already aware of the loss of the warmth of her body as the wind blew across his back. 

He turned to face the three of them who were all looking at him with expectant expressions, though Macy’s the worst of all. 

“Perhaps we should-” he tried, pointing toward the water. 

“The Undine and mermaids are taken care of. The Undine infected them with some weird, rare, mermaid plague that makes them turn evil and murderous under their command. They’re fine now. And Nathan’s fast asleep in his bunk sleeping all this off like the bad dream it is,” Mel said, then waved a hand at him. “Spill.” 

He sighed. Very well then. 

“I have been trying to tell you for weeks now, but there...never seemed to be a right time,” he began, shrugging helplessly. Harry clasped his hands behind him, smiling uneasily in mock amusement at himself to get out the nerves that were rattling around inside of him. “I’m sorry but I have been terribly selfish ever since the apocalypse, or rather the not-apocalypse. I thought it would be best that I no longer serve you. You all know how I feel about you,” and oh, what a lie that was, wasn’t it?, “but I feel as though this has clouded my judgement. And it has become clear to me how true this rings as I have been unable to tell you this over the course of several weeks because every....every time I have tried one of you says something that allows me to think I can stay. But it isn’t-”

“Harry?” Maggie cut in, stepping forward. He looked up from the spot on the ground he had been speaking at to find her standing before him, tears on her cheeks. She smiled up at him and shook her head, “You’re not going anywhere. Okay? So just... stop talking.” 

She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him into a hug. Soon after Mel followed, coming to her sister’s side to join. He blinked, and looked up to make eye contact over Maggie’s head that rested under his chin. She was glaring at him with a steely gaze, her hands in fists. He opened his mouth to apologize but she turned away, shaking her head. 

“Macy,” he called after her but she didn’t stop. Harry pulled away, “I’m sorry, I’ve-” 

The other sisters released him, allowing him to chase after the eldest until he stood in her pathway. 

“I never meant-”

“Get out of my way,” she growled at him, changing her path to get around him but he sidestepped to stop her. Their proximity now closer, making her flinch back. She didn’t stop, simply redirecting herself until she blew passed him.

“Macy-”

“No!” she yelled, rounding on him. Her breathing was ragged, as if they had just emerged from the water instead of having been sitting on the shore all this time. Slowly she seemed to catch herself, closing her eyes to calm herself down. She opened them once more, her brows creasing upwards. “No. You said, Harry, you said that you wouldn’t leave m- us! You _ said! _” 

“I know,” he nodded, daring to take a step forward, hand reaching out. “I know, but Macy-”

“I can’t believe this.” She pulled away. “You were just going to leave?” 

“No! Of course not, I couldn’t leave you or your sisters, but I know that…” he choked on the words, snatching his hand back. “I know that I make you uncomfortable, Macy. It’s very clear that you have been unable to forget what I was thinking. And now it affects our relationship, therefore your relationship to your duties as a Charmed One and the new governing body to the Magical World. I don’t want that anymore! I cannot do that to you simply because I am too selfish to be alone. It isn’t fair. Your quality of life is far more important.” 

She stared at him and the weight of it was terrifying. He clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides, begging her with his eyes to say something. 

“Harry…” she whispered only to stop herself at the sound of the wailing of sirens off in the distance. 

“Uh- sorry to interrupt,” Mel said, appearing beside him with Maggie on her tail, “but we need to go.”

They all hurried off the beach, the conversation lost to the water. 

\--


	2. Too Close(t) for Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still unbetaed !

It had been a week since the mermaids had been cured, Maggie reporting that her new friends were very grateful for the Charmed Ones help. 

As it turns out, the man who had died was the only victim of an Undine, who had been punished with a lifetime in mermaid prison, which was a thing apparently. The other two men that had almost been victim of their crimes had been the result the Undine wanting revenge. They had been spreading the soulless plague from one mermaid to another, the sickness bringing them down to an almost zombie like stage. The Undine was commanding them to look for men who had been unfaithful in a relationship to bring back like lambs to a slaughter. An uninfected mermaid had stopped Mel and Maggie from hurting her friends while Harry and Macy had been caught up. The sisters had helped in multiplying and administering the antidote to the rest of the mermaids, bringing them back to coherency to arrest the Undine and put a stop to the madness. 

Harry and the girls had fled from the beach that night, pulling out of the parking lot before the police could arrive, having been called by someone living on their houseboat hearing strange noises and finally peeking their head out to see unwelcomed visitors at the lake that night. Harry had not gotten into the car, the excuse of needing to wipe Mr. Miller’s mind his to avoid the conversation that would remain unfinished.

He made himself scarce that week, only popping in to make a quick breakfast and popping out before anyone woke up. Although he suspected that they waited for him to leave before venturing downstairs. And, of course, he would always come when any of the sisters called out for him with purpose. 

Harry was disappointed, but not very surprised, to find that it was only Mel or Maggie who would do so. It had only been due to nonlethal emergencies that week, and they mostly called via the phone or texted anyways. Such as Maggie asking what she should wear to the meeting with the Ogres ( _ “Is wearing green offensive? Do shiny things hurt their eyes? How short can my skirt be? You know what, I’ll wear pants just in case!”)  _ or Mel asking if he knew of a spell that would help her communicate with animals. ( _ “It’s for something important, I swear!”)  _

Macy, on all fronts, had been radio silent.

He tried not to think too much about it but their last conversation played in his head on constant repeat, even when he didn’t want it too, like in the middle of a lecture or when he was speaking to other faculty members and did not need the distraction of nerves and anxiety filling his chest as Macy’s voice replayed in his head. 

She had sounded so heart broken. 

But why? Why when he did nothing but make her so unhappy? He knew, by the way she had spoken to him when they were tied together, that she cared about him but he also knew that his level of feelings were not returned. To her, he was her friend and nothing more besides perhaps a colleague in their magical duties. And that was enough, of course it was, he could never ask for more. It was an honor to serve her let alone be considered a friend.

Harry wanted her to know that he would never do anything that would make her feel like she couldn’t trust him, that he would force her to do something she wouldn’t, or that she owed him anything because of it. He just did not know how to communicate this where she would believe him. And then there was the added detail of Macy not speaking to him as of recently would also prove in making that endeavor difficult. 

She most likely felt bad because she knew her sisters considered him their friend, too. They had told him that he was apart of their family, and she did not want to be the reason to push him away, or to make him stay away from them as well. 

But that wasn’t what he wanted. All he wanted was to assign someone else to be their Whitelighter, and though he would be reluctant to do so, he knew it was the right thing to do. Their judgement would be unclouded by emotion. The duties as the Charmed Ones far outweighed the feelings of one man wanting to stay with the people he loved. Especially now that their responsibilities had expanded drastically. 

It would not mean that he would be banned from seeing them or from attending the occasional dinner should they so desire. It only meant that he would not have to weigh so heavily on Macy any longer. She wouldn’t have to feel apprehensive when calling upon their new Whitelighter or as though she had to treat them a certain way to avoid conflict. It would relieve her of unneeded stress and give her the space she probably desperately desired from him.

No one had broached the subject, had dared to even touch it, and Harry knew that he would have to be the one to bring it back to their attention eventually. 

Only it would have to wait, as he heard Mel calling for him. 

He appeared behind her, mouth open and ready to ask what was wrong, but as he stepped toward her he found the answer with his eyes laid out by her feet.

“Oh, dear,” he breathed. 

“They’re dead,” Mel said, turning away from the sight of the bloodied couple. “I tried to stop it, but my powers didn’t work on them for some reason. They tore one another apart.” 

“What happened?” he asked.

“A student told me that she heard arguing as I was passing by. It sounded bad, like, really bad. So I knocked and came in to see what was going on, in case I needed to call security or step in or something, but they just- it’s like I wasn’t even here,” she said, pushing her hair behind her ear as her animated hand motions let it flop into her face. “Then they started saying things in Latin, I think? And carved the markings on their skin and tore at one another until they-” she gestured behind her to the bodies,”-and I couldn’t do anything.” 

“It’ll be alright, Mel,” he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to guide her farther away from them and toward the exit. “You should go. I’ll take care of this.”

“Okay,” she said, quiet. Clearly whatever she had seen having rattled her. Usually she so headstrong and stubborn, insisting that she could take care of things herself. Especially now that they were in charge she had become more independent, though he would not have thought that possible beforehand, “I’ll meet you back at the house?” 

He nodded, watching as she walked out the door then forced himself to face the horrific scene. 

\--

Harry met with Mel and Maggie in the attic later that evening. First they identified the symbols the couple had carved into one another that he had copied down from the scene. They learned that the symbols were magical runes that were charged with dark magic that pertained to certain types of ghosts. Using the same spell they had used to identify Brenda, the revenant who had possessed Lucy all those months ago, Harry accompanied the two on a trip down memory lane. 

They witnessed a ghost by the name of Wendell Levetti having a fight with his girlfriend. It had started out as purely verbal as Wendell attempted to calm the woman down. The three of them watching with bated breath until she broke a glass over his head and continued to physically abuse him as he retreated from her. 

The scene had ended as soon as the door slammed behind the girlfriend, her shouts echoing in the attic when they returned. 

They concluded that Wendell must have turned into a vengeful spirit, looking to wreak havoc on couples. 

It seemed to be a simple find-and-vanquish task from there on out. 

Macy returned home as they were cleaning up, running into the attic with news spilling from her mouth. 

“You saw a ghost?” 

“Yeah!” she beamed. “But she was super nice. I’m talking friendlier than Casper, and that’s his whole gig. Besides, you know, the bald head and big baby blues.”

“Two ghosts in one day,” Mel said, then shook her head. “I don’t like it. What did she say to you?” 

“Uh, well a lot of stuff actually. She didn’t even know I could see or hear her at first. No one else has been able to before. I asked her about being a ghost. She asked me about being a witch. I asked her how she died,” Macy shrugged. “Actually, she’s-!” 

She came to an abrupt stop, her smile fading as her eyes caught on Harry. 

“She’s...what?” Maggie prompted, stealing Macy’s attention back. Visibly it could be seen that she tried to pick herself back up again, but Harry could sense that he had ruined whatever good mood she had been in and felt as if someone had slipped a knife between his ribs.

“She’s from your era, Harry,” Macy continued, her lips twisting into an unsure smile. “She was born in 1918 and died in 1939, during World War II. She had been a nurse and got caught in a bombing, but her soul was tied here in Hiltowne for some reason.”

“Unfinished business, I’m sure,” he said, turning away. They had not spoken normally in a week and Harry pretended this failed attempted didn’t land like a lead weight in his stomach. Because Harry had come to terms with the fact that his feelings would remain unrequited the moment she had pulled away from him when she found out. He knew that Macy would never feel the same about him. He knew all of this and had been repressing his emotions for months now. So it was a little disheartening to know that he could have broken everything apart due to not being able to communicate his intentions. “If she is not harmful, then perhaps you can help her cross over to the next plane after you’ve all taken care of the poltergeist. If you should need me, you all know how to call.”

“Wait, Harry-” Maggie tried, but he was already in his bedroom. 

He allowed a moment to pass before he attempted to sit down on the edge of the bed, only to miss completely and land very unceremoniously onto his floor.

\--

The following day he had not heard from the girls and decided to text Mel for an update on the ghost. And when she did not reply, Maggie. 

**From Maggie:** ** _ Nothing so far! I’ll call you after we vanquish him!!_ ** ** _💪💁_ **

He smiled and went to pocket his phone, only for it to buzz again. The notification read that it was from Macy. 

He fumbled to get it open. 

**From Macy:** ** _ SOS in lab_ **

**From Macy:** ** _ Hurry_ **

Without question he checked his surroundings, found himself alone in the corridor that led to his office, and orbed to the one just outside the lab. 

Why had she not called for him aloud? Harry wondered as he approached the door. From the small window of the door he shifted around, trying to find the angle to where he could see Macy. When he couldn’t spot her he looked down at his phone, furrowing his eyebrows at it as he read over her messages once more. 

His head snapped up when he heard something, catching movement in the corner of his eye. A door was opened a little ways down the hall and someone was inside rummaging around the room.

When he reached it there Macy was, using her powers to pull a stack of folded lab coats from the top of a shelf. The room was small, no larger than four feet from both width and depth, and held two shelving units on either side that took up most of the space, only leaving a little room to stand in between the shelves. She did a double take on him, losing her focus on the coats that fell back into place on the shelf.

“Harry?” she asked. “What’re you doing here?”

“You texted me,” he said, holding up his phone. She frowned.

“No I didn’t.” Macy eyed him but pulled her phone from her pocket. As soon as she looked down he felt two hands on his back that shoved him forwards, passed where he had been standing just outside the door over the threshold. 

Right into Macy. 

She let out a sound of surprise, using her hands to catch him by the shoulders. Behind him the door slammed and the tell-tell sign of clicking indicated that the lock had been put into place. With no window on this door, or anywhere in the small room, the only light came from Macy’s phone still clutched in her hand and the barely there gaps around the door. 

Their proximity was obscenely close, he had braced himself with a hand on the back wall of the room, the other having had to clutch onto her bicep to stop from knocking into her with the force of the push from behind. Her hands were still on his shoulders, but he could also feel one of her legs between his, having staggered her feet in preparation to catch his full weight. 

He felt her breath against his skin, the exhale of air making his eyes slide over her face until he was staring at her mouth. Should he move any closer it would have been easy to answer his quandaries as to what her lips would feel like, if his skin would be dyed that lovely pink color of her lipstick, if he leaned closer what would the length of her body feel like pressed into his, her thigh-

“My apologies!” he sputtered, finally able to gather his wits about him. Harry pushed back using the heel of his hand against the wall behind her. Though he couldn’t get far as the door dug into his back, the space too compact to allow for any distance between them even for courtesy. 

“What are you  _ doing _ ?” she hissed. 

“I- I-” he swallowed hard, “I was pushed from behind and-”

“Well get us out of here!” she said. 

“Right,” he responded, then reached up to take hold of her so he could orb. 

They both froze in place when there was a knock on the door. 

“Macy? You in there?” 

“Shit,” she whispered fiercely before clearing her throat.. “Hey, Viktor! Yeah, I'm here.”

“Some girl just came by to say she accidentally closed the door and locked you and uh, Henry?, up in there?” her coworker asked. He tried the handle. It jiggled for a moment, the metal clacking, but the door did not move, “Well, dang it. I think I’ll have to find a janitor or something to get the key. Are you guys going to be okay? This may take a minute.”

“We’ll be okay,” Macy replied. “Thanks Viktor!” 

“No problem, dude! Er- sorry. Boss!” he replied and the sound of his footsteps retreated in a hurry. Macy groaned in frustration.

“Damnit! Now if you orb us out of here it’ll look suspicious,” she said, throwing her hands up, the close quarters making them brush against his arms. She dropped them, trying to squish away from him but equipment at her feet behind her kept her from doing so, tripping backwards. He caught onto her, an arm bracing around her back to pull her forward. Harry let go quickly, wincing in a silent apology. 

“Well, it seems we’re stuck here for the time being,” he said, and she nodded, pressing her lips together. 

They were inches apart, any movement would cause them to touch. Even their breathing, he could barely make out the feeling of her lab coat mingling with his blazer when they inhaled at the same time. 

It was difficult to not make eye contact. He would look at the floor, she would look at the ceiling, but like a pair of differing magnets he would always find her dark eyes again. He could feel his composure slipping under her scrutiny. Harry almost suggested that he try to turn around so that they were not having to face one another and continue to make this awkward eye contact. Then the thought of one of them having to squirm against the other, most likely having to touch through the whole process, had him biting his tongue to smash the want that filled his abdomen. 

Over the course of the time his vision got used to the dim lighting, her face only becoming more clear. It had seemed like a long time since he’d been this close to her, but he had not forgotten how beautiful she was. This close Harry could have counted her eyelashes that were a distracting detail he took note of as they swept over her sparkling brown eyes. And they were very close now. Touching. His starvation for her affections clawed at him from within, urging him to close the distance again. To touch her more in the hopes that she would touch him in return. 

It wasn’t even just her physical affections that he missed, because Macy was not so much the type to give those out as her sisters or himself would. He missed her voice, wanting to hear her go on about whatever it was she wanted to share with him. He missed their conversations, their shared lunches. He missed their silent moments in the dining room, him with his essays to be graded and her with her lab reports, working in the comfort of one another’s company without ever having to say anything at all. 

He just missed her. Macy. It had only been a week, of course, and he had seen her in passing or from afar, but it was not the same. And he only had himself to blame for it. 

He had to actively concentrate on not getting any closer, needing to stay rooted to his spot to not so much as brush against her. The air between them seemed to be heavy and humid. The thundering of his heartbeat rang loud in his ears that he was almost positive that in the close quarters that Macy could hear it, too. 

“Macy,” he tried, though his voice came out thin and weak. Her eyes cut from the shelf she had been examining, to him, her eyebrows raising a touch. “I’m sorry.” 

“For what?” she asked. “This? Look, if you said you were pushed and someone reported the both of us in here I’m inclined to believe you. Someone’s probably just looking to get us in trouble or trying to start some ridiculous rumor.”

“No. Well, yes, I am sorry for making you miss work, but I meant about last week. What happened on the beach?”

She hummed, nodding in understanding. “Right. That.” 

“Yes. That,” he repeated. “I’m sorry for my choice of words, they were unfair.” 

“Yeah, well, you should be,” Macy shot back, her gaze steely. “So, what? You were just going to pawn us off to some other Whitelighter and then go on vacation? You could have asked us if you needed a break!” 

“Macy,” he sighed, exasperated already. “That is not-”

“Oh, so you weren’t trying to leave?”

“If you would allow me to explain-”

“No, I get it. You’re an Independent Whitelighter. You can do whatever you want,” she continued, and the annoyance in her tone was almost tangible. “Why not leave? It’s not like there’s anything keeping you here anyways. You could go right now, if you wanted. So, go, Harry. Nothing’s stopping you, is there?”

“Macy, of course there is,” he said, his own anger tinting his voice. He did his best to hold it by the collar so as not to upset her any farther. “And I’m hurt that you would think I would ever abandon you and your sisters without so much as a word. Have I not proven myself to be a better friend than that?” 

She remained silent, her eyes darting away from him. He took it as a sign that he would be allowed to continue without interruption. “As I was saying, I would like to apologize for the way it came about. And for my behavior these past few days. I assumed you wanted space, as you usually do, but-”

“You don’t make me uncomfortable!” she blurted out, proving him wrong in more ways than one.

He searched her face. Macy was a terrible liar, her tells obvious, even to him. Yet there were none to be found. She sighed, “Harry, you don’t make me uncomfortable, okay? I know I’ve been acting weird ever since we stopped the apocalypse, but that’s not because of you. It’s...

He nodded when she trailed off, though he felt wounded that she could not even bare to say it aloud. She gave him a watery smile and a helpless shrug of her shoulders. 

“Galvin was the last person who touched me like…” she sighed, clearly struggling to get the words to filter through her brain to her mouth. “I’ve never really been around people who are so touchy like you three. Like Maggie! She’s a hugger, and a casual toucher, even when she isn’t using her powers. Mel is more subtle, but she lets you know she’s there with it. 

“And then there’s you. And I don’t mind it, I really don’t. It’s not weird or uncomfortable or anything it’s- I know I called you our honorary sister, and you are! You totally are, but you’re different than Mel or Maggie to me. And not just because you’re a guy. I don’t know. I just...I’m still trying to process everything, I guess. With the lab and us having to take on everything the Elder’s left behind, and Galvin and...” Macy looked up at him and laughed airily, “Am I making any sense here?”

“Yes, of course,” he said. “I’m sorry. I should have been more open about this instead of drawing my own conclusions. I simply assumed due to my observations of your behavior-”

“No! You’re not the only one who read the situation wrong! I didn’t even know you were picking up on my weirdness,” she shook her head and reached out, her hand landing on his chest. He froze, hoping that she could not feel the spike in his pulse at her touch. “You’ve been so good to us. Helping through this transition and always being there to answer our questions and make sure we’re not killing ourselves trying to balance everything. I couldn’t imagine doing this without you. I mean, you have to know how much we all care about you…don’t you?”

She eyed him, her head tilting slightly. 

The truth was, he had not quite thought about it as in depth as he should have. But upon reflection, he was aware of how much the three sisters cared for him. They had fought for him time and time again. Had it not been for them he would still be in Tartarus, driven mad with unfathomable pain. He would not have seen his son or his grandchildren had it not been for Mel’s unwavering help and encouragement. 

They had fought Fiona to get him back from her control, had disputed against the Elder’s for him, and continued to allow him to stay by their side without question despite not needing him in their new position of power. They wanted him around for things that did not include their duties, such as movie nights and dinners. Maggie asked his opinion on her outfits some mornings. Mel talked to him about her days at The Haunt. They confided in him, laughed politely at his jokes (when they were “ _ good _ ”), asked about his day, and listened. They did care about him as more than just someone who could heal them when they were hurt. He was more than just their Whitelighter. 

Their shopping list even included his favorite tea. 

“I think I’m still getting used to it,” he replied, smiling softly at Macy who mirrored the expression. His voice was very quiet but he was unable to bring it up anymore without it cracking under the emotion that was balled up in his throat. “Thank you, Macy.” 

“You’re welcome,” she replied. Her expression turned hard again, and he narrowed her eyes at him. “That means you’re staying, right?” 

“Yes, I suppose I’ll have to.”

“Good,” she smiled again. “Because you promised.”

“I did, didn’t I?” he said, allowing his tone to touch on amused. She wrinkled her nose at him as they both huffed a laugh that met in the middle of the space between. 

After a beat Macy looked at him, “Hey, you said you came here because I texted you, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” he patted his pockets. His leg brushed against her as he bent back to get his phone from the inside breast pocket of his blazer. He unlocked it, and showed her the message. 

“Huh,” her eyes turned up to him. “I never sent you this. When have you ever known me to use  _ SOS _ ?”

“Then who could have orchestrated all of this?” 

They stared at one another for a tense moment until Macy’s eyes lit up in realization, only to close as she cursed quietly to herself. 

“What?” he asked. “What is it?”

“I think it might have been my ghost friend,” Macy said, her voice high and almost sounding as if she was reluctant to say that much. With good reason, though, because Harry let out an exasperated sound. “Hey! We were fighting and she asked! I needed to unload. We should be thanking her, honestly, I don’t think I would have been able to have this little heart to heart without her advice.”

“Yes, well, it seems that she also gave you ample opportunity to confess if she lured me here and locked us away in such tight quarters,” he rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. “Why must ghosts feel the need to project themselves onto the living?”

“...because they couldn’t do what they wanted to while they were alive?” 

He glared at her, though it held no malice. She smiled innocently up at him. 

“But why would she chose such a space for this conversation?” he asked, looking around the closet. Macy coughed, regaining his attention, and shrugged at him.

“Yeah, uh, no idea. Maybe it was just...convenient?” 

“My office would have been so, too. Or a room at your home. Or-”

“Okay, I get it. She isn’t the most prepared ghost in the world,” Macy interrupted, patting his arm. “I’m sure Viktor will get us out of here soon enough. If not we can just get Mel or Maggie to come by and get us the old fashion way. And, anyways, you can go if you want. I’ll call you when he gets back.” 

“No, that would be too risky,” he sighed. “Besides, that seems rather unfair. Wouldn’t want to leave you here to suffer on your own.” 

“Thanks, Harry,” Macy said softly and he nodded in return, then quickly went on to ask about what he had missed in the life of Macy Vaughn during the week they had been estranged. She got about half way through filling him in on her work before she became side tracked with describing a new friend she had met in the library, a man by the name of Trevor Fielding whose description made Harry’s heart sink. He gave nothing away, trained in the art of covering up his pain, and asked after their interaction to allow Macy to continue to gush. 

She had just begun to tell him about their plans for meeting next Thursday for lunch with the rest of her coworkers upon her invitation when the door handle jiggled. 

“Macy! Henry! I’ve got the key!” Viktor’s voice called to them. He felt Macy’s sigh of relief against his cheek. “Just, uh, one second…”

True to his word, the door pulled back a few moments later to reveal Viktor with a grin of achievement sitting on his face. The light was blinding, reminiscent of the feeling when one was walking out of the cinema into the broad daylight. Harry walked backwards until he was out in the hallway, stopping to watch as Macy followed after him. He stood up straight, pulling on the lapels of his blazer and running a hand over the wave in his hair, even though nothing was out of place, trying to recollect himself.

He thanked her co-worker who gave him a thumbs up in return, and then looked to Macy. She smiled and his nerves settled at the sight of it. 

They were going to be okay. 

Running away was not the answer, not with a woman whose trauma she’d had to deal with the whole of her 29 years was being left by those she thought she could trust. It was clear to him now that Harry was one of those people and should he leave it would only hurt Macy more than him staying and causing conflict. 

He couldn’t abandon someone he felt so much for, especially if it were to harm them the same way it would harm him. Harry couldn’t. He wouldn’t. 

On his way back to his office, he cast one final glance over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of Macy as she held open the door to the lab for Viktor. Just like that, he found something to hang onto. It not for his own sake, than for Macy’s.

Because Macy was far too important. 

He continued on his path, starting up the stairs, not catching the lingering gaze that followed his movements until he disappeared around the corner. 

\--

The murderous ghost vanquishing had not gone to plan, though Harry could not say he was surprised by the turn of events as nothing could ever be quite so simple for the three sisters. 

A twist in the plot had come upon realizing that the ghost was unaffected by the spell due to the runes he had been getting his victims to cut into one another. He used them as sacrifices, protecting him from magic while feeding him their souls. 

When Harry arrived at the house there was a guest he had never seen before sitting at the dining table, giggling with Maggie. He had panicked for a moment, trying to think of an explanation for his presence, but then decided that if he could simply sneak up the stairs he would not have to say anything at all.

“Har!” Maggie called out, her giddiness almost tangible. Caught, he turned back to enter the dining room, hands clasped behind his back. The girl sitting across from Maggie was wearing familiar attire, though it was not modern. Her army green shirt was loose fitting, the collar’s leaves were large and held several pins on them, the sleeves of it rolled up to her shoulders in large turns of the fabric. Her hair was in a messy Victory Roll, the back of it pinned up and off her neck. It looked as if she had been wearing it through something physically taxing. And, upon further inspection, her shirt seemed filthy, too. Covered in dirt and dark stains. 

She looked out of place, but her smile was bright. She was young, the lines in her face not yet formed, and her eyes widening at the sight of him in the naive curious way he had seen on Maggie’s face time and time again. 

“Harry, this is Beth! She was just giving me some really great relationship advice,” Maggie introduced, waving from Harry to the woman who waved at him from her seat as he bowed in greeting. “Uh, you remember the ghost Macy told us about, don’t you?”

He stared at Maggie, waiting for further explanation because, this woman was surely not the ghost from the University come to visit them in their own home as that was not a good idea to let in a stray off the street. Maggie only shrugged at him in answer. Harry looked back to Beth who had her head ducked, her eyes daring to peak up at him through her lashes. 

“How is that possible? Are you not tied to anything?”

“Oh! No, I am! I had a pair of work gloves my father gave me that were lost in the college. But Macy found them for me!” the ghost –  Beth –  said. “So now that they’re here, I could come, too. It’s so nice to meet you, Harry! I have heard so much about you.”

He found himself flustered by this, and in her presence in general, as she had been the number one suspect in what had transpired yesterday morning. Just as he was about to work out a response both his and Maggie’s phones alerted them to a notification. 

Mel needed them upstairs. 

They entered the attic, Beth having beat them to it, to approach where Mel and Macy were standing in front of the Book. 

“Guys, we have a big problem,” Mel said. “Macy thinks this Wendell guy is trying to resurrect himself.” 

“That’s not possible,” Harry insisted. “Ghosts do not have that kind of power.”

“Maybe not,” Macy replied, moving out of the way to point at the page she had been reading. Mel stepped up, her eyes flickering across the page. “But he is powerful enough to possess people and have them do his bidding. So far he has been following this spell for resurrection of the dead. The murders, the runes on his victims, he’s been building himself up in order to prepare for this ceremony. It’s where he’s going to use all the souls he’s stolen to amplify it so he can steal someone’s body to attach to.” 

“Oh my god,” Mel gasped, looking up in horror. Harry followed her line of sight to their audience.

“What?” Maggie asked, touching her sister’s arm. 

“Are you helping him?” Mel said, her brow furrowing to match the anger in her voice. She pulled away from Maggie in order to step toward Beth, who backed away, eyes blinking owlishly.

“No!” Beth looked over to Macy, her eyes pleading for help as the younger witch kept coming towards her. “No! No, I swear! I would never want to hurt anyone! I haven’t been able to speak to anyone alive in decades, please, I-”

“Mel, what’s wrong?” Macy asked, her words pointed.

“The Book says that the ritual only needs a matching number of souls to bring someone back. Wendell is only one person, but he’s killed how many people?” Mel kept her eyes on Beth. “She told us that she and him were the only other ghosts at the school! She said they had met before and were friends until he went psycho recently. If he killed two people then-”

“Then she’s looking to come, too,” Maggie finished for her. “Have you been playing us this whole time?”

“No! I would never help him do something like that!”

“Why have you only appeared now?” Mel continued to accuse. 

“I don’t know!” Beth said.“I didn’t do it on purpose! One minute I’m standin’ there, like normal, and then Macy could see me and... And you, Mel! I was the one who asked you to check on those two people he killed, remember? You’ve been the only people who could see me, everyone else ignored me like they always did!”

Everyone looked at Mel for confirmation who nodded reluctantly, “I thought she was a Theater student.” 

“I’m trying to help you guys! Wendell has lost his way,” Beth explained, her voice trembling. She looked to Maggie, “I know he’s done somethin’ unforgivable. I would never help him kill anyone. I like being a ghost! It’s why I haven’t tried to cross over after all this time.” 

There was a long, tense, moment where everyone was silent as they drew their own conclusions.

“Fine,” Mel said, breaking the silence. “But if you try anything, and I mean _ anything _ , I will not hesitate to vanquish you. We have been taken advantage of far too many times, and I’m not letting anyone prey on my sisters’ kindness. Got it?”

“I understand,” Beth said, nodding her head furiously. She sighed, smiling then. “Thank you! I promise, I’ll do everythin’ I can to help you stop him.” 

With that, they set to work trying to figure out how to do just that. 

\--

According to the Book, Wendell’s ceremony would need to take place during a New Moon in the place where he had died. Finding that exact location had been a little tricky but Harry had been able to orb into the police's archival storage to find the case report. The photos were brutal, but he was able to gather the intel they needed. 

He had been killed by his girlfriend in the woods. She had smashed a glass over his head while he had been trying to escape her apartment rendering him unconscious. From there she had dragged him out into the forest where she continued to strangle him.

Harry found the location from the photographs and the officer’s written report, just off one of the running paths. A black walnut tree marked the location, standing high above the rest like a beacon. 

“So this is where he died?” Beth asked, appearing in front of him. He didn’t startle at the sight of her, having felt a presence following him from the police station. 

“Yes,” he replied. She bent down, her hand touching the Earth but leaving it undisturbed as she tried to drag her palm through the grass. 

“I can’t believe he would do something like this,” she said when Harry went to stand beside her. Beth rose to her feet, keeping her eyes on the spot where Wendell’s body had been found. “He’s always been so sweet on me.” 

“Dark magic corrupts even the most innocent of souls,” Harry said, offering a sympathetic smile when she turned to him. They stood there a moment longer, allowing Beth to mourn her friend, before Harry began to make the trek back to the parking lot. 

“Why don’t you zap on back to the house?” Beth asked when he found the trail, his shoes crunching the gravel under his weight. Her footsteps fell silently as she walked beside him. 

“I’ve no idea who could be out here,” he said, gesturing to the trees. “If anyone were to see me without my knowledge the results could be disasters. Someone might come asking after the girls and I would never want to endanger them due to my own laziness.” 

Beth giggled behind a hand, scrunching her nose up at him when he gave her a quizzical look, “Macy said you could be very serious about this stuff.”

“‘ _ This stuff’ _ ,” he said, needing to gloss over the fact that Macy had spoken about him at all with a third party, “is important. The Charmed Ones are newly in charge of the Magical World and it would not be good if their Whitelighter exposed them to the Human World.” 

“Very serious.” She schooled her expression, clearly mocking him as she broke out into a grin only a few seconds later. “Oh, come on, Harry, lighten up.”

“I beg your pardon, but it is a little hard for me to lighten up, so you say, when we have a murderous ghost on our hands.”

“Oh-kay,” Beth said, her eyebrows shooting up toward her hair line. “Someone’s a little grumpy.” 

“I am not grumpy,” he countered, pointedly keeping his eyes on the path in front of them.

“Oh, Macy said you were mad at me, but I thought she was just messin’ around,” she laughed. “Are you really going to pretend like you aren’t peeved at me for shovin’ you and her into a closet?”

Harry paused, contemplating whether or not he wanted to participate in this conversation. He could have very easily ignored her, doing exactly as she said and pretending as though he did not harbor an annoyance for this woman for having put him and Macy in an inappropriate situation. But then the more he thought about Macy the more fuel was placed onto the fire. 

“You deliberately manipulated a complete stranger and a woman you met the day previous,” he scolded, hands gesturing wildly as they continued down the path. “You had no idea what the situation was between the two of us. You’re lucky it ended as well as it did otherwise-”

“Otherwise you woulda what?” Beth smirked. “Come give me a good lecture like you are right now?”

“Had you cost me my friendship with Macy you would have gotten more than coarse words,” he said and was surprised by the tone that emerged. But he did enjoy the look of shock it brought to Beth’s face, satisfied that his message had been received. “What did you think you were doing? What about your plan could have made any logical sense?” 

“It worked on my friends,” she explained. “Jennifer and Matthew were always at one another’s throats back in high school. It got so annoyin’ that me and my other girlfriend, Molly, locked the two of ‘em up in a study room in the library. Next thing we know their sweethearts and he’s tryin’ to convince her to move to New York with him. I figured-”

“You were teenagers,” he scoffed. “Macy and I are adults. We are fully capable of speaking with one another without being shoved into a tiny space and locked away.”

“Not from what I saw,” Beth said. “She was avoiding you like the plague.” 

“What?”

“At the University. I’ve kinda been...well, I wouldn’t call it spyin’ but when you’re a ghost you can’t really do anything besides people watch. I noticed you when you came because you had that accent, reminded me of my time overseas. All them British folk were always real nice. And then I noticed Macy because she seemed kinda lonely. So I kept tabs, would check in when I could. Next thing I knew you two were sharin’ tea in your office and you were zappin’ in and outta that place. 

“After that I really started payin’ attention! You guys have kinda been my biggest source of entertainment since I’ve been dead. Anyways, when Macy saw me the other day I couldn’t believe it! Just my luck she caught me when she was hidin’ from you, too, so I could ask why. Said you two had some kinda argument? And that she felt bad about yellin’ at you and thought you were mad at her. But when I told her to ask you if you were mad she just froze up and changed the subject. So! I thought I’d try to help you out. I always try to help where I can! It was just easier that day since...you know, Wendell’s magic letterin’ gave me to hoodoo jump I needed to spill the sample on that fella’s lab coat, text you, and lock you both up in there. I didn’t mean any harm. I thought it would get you two talkin’ again, at least.” 

He chose not to answer when she finished, allowing his brain to process the information. Besides the fact that they had been being watched by this woman for almost a year now, she had more insight to their situation than he had wanted. “Macy spoke to you about me?”

“Yeah! Once we got over the whole  _ I’m dead _ thing she really opened up,” Beth smiled. That seemed out of character to Harry, but he supposed if she knew her audience was not of the living she may have felt more comfortable unpacking her inner thoughts. “She was really worried.”

“About?” he found himself asking, his concern out weighing his dislike of this conversation. 

“A lot of things,” she said, then blew out a breath. “But mostly about having to face you. Which is why I wanted to help! You two seemed close before, and she seemed awful down about having to avoid you.”

“She did not have to avoid me. We simply had a disagreement that had not been resolved and I thought-” Harry sighed, lowering his head. “I thought she didn’t want to see me.” 

“She thought the same about you,” Beth said. “So see? I helped, didn’t I?”

“That does not make what you did right,” he said, giving her a pointed look. “In a way you did, but-! We would have worked it out ourselves eventually.” 

“Suuuure you would have,” she said with a knowing tone, the corner of her mouth quirking upwards. 

There was a beat of silence and Harry was grateful, hoping that the next time he glanced over that Beth would have disappeared to return back to the house. Instead she struck up another conversation, this time on their original time period to give them an even playing field. To Harry’s utter surprise, he found himself enjoying their talk. It was not very often that one could find someone from so long ago, who also had the experience of watching as the world changed and evolved over time. With the addition of her knowing about the Magical World, it was an easy back and forth between them and it wasn’t until they had reached his car that he understood why Macy and Maggie had been so ready to speak with Beth. She made it easy, keeping the conversation from veering towards awkward or stale. 

He even found himself missing the company on the drive back to the Vera-Vaughn house.

\--

The New Moon phase was taking place that night. They had the spell and everyone had cleared their schedule for the night, all they had left to do was wait for the sun to sink under the horizon to go greet the other side of the world for their morning. 

They all made the trek into the forest while it was still light outside, following Harry down the path as he led them to the sight. 

Everyone startled when Beth appeared to them out of nowhere, Maggie’s shriek causing Harry more alarm than the sight of the ghost. 

“I couldn’t talk him out of it,” she apologized. “I tried and tried, but he wouldn’t listen to reason. It was so strange. The words were comin’ from Wendell’s mouth but never in our time together had I heard him speak to me like that. He was quiet and shy, it took me three years of pesterin’ for him to finally open up to me. And now it’s like he is a completely different soul, talkin’ about his murderer and the resurrection like it’s some kind of escape from this prison.” 

“Wait,” Macy said suddenly, scrambling on her phone. “Harry, what was his murderer’s name?” 

“Chelsea Fines,” he recalled, “Why?”

After a moment she walked closer, motioning for everyone to do the same. They all gathered around to peer down at her screen. The headline read that one Chelsea Fines had died in her prison cell three days ago. 

“So,” a voice rang out, “you’re the little bitch who Wendell’s been cheating on me with while I was away?” 

They all looked up to find an older woman standing behind them, her eyes fixated on Beth. 

She wore a grey uniform that resembled scrubs almost, but the name tag attached to her breast pocket clearly stated the name of a New Hampshire prison facility. Her hair was in a scraggly bun that sat high on her head, strands of its light blonde almost matching the pale skin as they stuck to her high forehead. Two people lay at her feet, both looking unharmed aside from remaining unconscious. 

Mel raised her hand, freezing time including both ghosts where they stood. “What the hell do we do now?” 

“We continue as planned,” Harry said, crouching down with their bag of supplies to begin removing the materials needed to perform the spell. “At least now we know the reasoning behind the sudden change in personality of Wendell and why two people were sacrificed instead of just the one. Maggie, help me with the sigil. Quickly.” 

Just as he and the youngest sister were spreading the material with the marking on it Mel gave a gasp of pain. They all looked up to watch as she was thrown across the forest by an invisible force, her back smacking into a tree trunk. Harry moved to his feet, running across to where she had fallen limp to the ground. Focusing his powers, light emitted from his palm along with the warm sensation that came with healing. He hovered over the back of her head, and breathed when she groaned. 

“Maggie!” Macy yelled. He turned to watch as Chelsea grabbed Maggie by the back of her hair, tossing her to the side.

“Macy, no!” he warned her as she ran at the dead inmate, who was grinning at the eldest sister approaching her. She held both hands up and Macy came to an abrupt halt. 

“Oh, no, little witch, whatever will you do without your sisters to help you?” Chelsea mocked, sticking out her lower lip at Macy who was struggling to breathe from whatever force was being imposed on her. “You three will be just what we need to bind us to our new bodies.” 

Harry stood then, trying to think of what to do. All three sisters were down for the count, and the ritual could not be stopped by him alone. A Whitelighter was nothing in comparison to the Power of Three. 

Beside him Beth appeared, voice desperate, “What do we do?”

“We must appeal to Wendell,” he said, having spotted the third ghost standing beside the brought innocents who were still passed out face first into the ground. He looked vacant, his eyes empty as they blindly stared off into the distance. 

Mel stirred behind Harry, but he knew she wouldn’t be up to anything so soon. There was no time. He turned to look at Beth then, focusing on her completely so as not to psych himself out by watching as Macy struggled to get air, “I need you to break through to him. You know him better than anyone here. You need to bring him out of whatever spell this woman has over him. Can you do that for me?” 

“I-I can try,” Beth agreed, her eyes pulling away from Wendell, “but won’t she notice me talkin’ to him?”

“No,” he shook his head, “you leave her to me. But it is imperative that you bring him back. Whatever means necessary.”

“Okay,” she said, then gave him a wink, “Good luck, old chap.”

“You too, yank,” he said with a mock salute. 

They smiled at one another and then took off to do their respective jobs.

“Chelsea!” he yelled, grabbing the ghost’s attention. Her dark eyes zeroed in on him. “I do believe that an older soul is far more valuable than one of a mere 29 years, don’t you think?” 

Macy dropped to her knees after the ghost released her from its hold, hands going up to touch her throat as she coughed, taking in large gulps of air. Harry kept his eyes on her when he approached Chelsea to ensure that she was alright.

“A resurrected man after my own heart,” she smirked, looking him up and down in a way that made his skin crawl. “You’re willing to sacrifice yourself for these three bitches? How sweet.” 

“Yes,” he said with a sincerity that was unnecessary for the moment but he could not help it. It was the truth. Should any of the Charmed Ones have needed him to die in their place he would have done so. Gladly. For there was no greater way to go than at the service of one’s charge. Though truthfully, and perhaps a tad bit more terrifying a fact, he knew that he would have given his life for the three of them without the excuse of duty to dote on. It was out of the need to protect them from harm, no matter the cost to himself. “If you are in need of someone to help your connection stick, then take me. Let them go. You’ve no need for them if you have me.”

“I mean, you’re not wrong,” Chelsea sighed, glancing around from Macy to Maggie to Mel over his shoulder. “But-”

“My lifespan is worth all of them combined and then some,” he continued, touching his chest as he stepped right up to her until they were a few paces away. “I’ll come willingly if you let them go.”

“Harry, no,” Macy said, though her voice was strained. “Please.”

“It’s alright, Macy, go see if Maggie’s okay, yes?” he smiled at her, keeping his tone soft and hushed. She hesitated, but only for a moment before she scrambled to her feet to run over to where Maggie was still lying, unmoving. He returned his gaze back to the ghost, his expression turning sour in an instant. “Do we have a deal?” 

“Pathetic,” she laughed before her hand shot out, disappearing into his chest. He yelled out in pain as she yanked at something from within, fingers tightening as she tried to free it from its place. Her laugh was menacing, like the crackle of a fire that had gotten out of hand. 

“Chelsea! Stop!” 

Harry watched as her eyes widened, at first in shock until they turned violent. She turned to look at who had stopped her, he followed in suit to find Wendell. 

He was just a boy, no older than Maggie or Beth. He wore 90’s regla and large glasses that sat slightly askew on the bridge of his rounded nose. His hair was shaggy, a dark brown against his skin that resembled a goldened ochre color. He glanced back at Beth who stepped up beside him, giving him a firm nod. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Chelsea asked, glaring at the both of them. Harry watched as she recomposed herself, trying to soften her features around the edges, her voice coming out in a higher pitch, “Wendell, honey, go back to-”

“No,” he cut in, and flinched at his own voice. “No. This is wrong!” 

From the corner of his eye on the other side of the confrontation Harry could vaguely make out movement passing by, and when he dared to turn his head a little more he found the Charmed Ones moving the bodies of the sacrifices. Good, hopefully they would take them far away from here. 

“Honey, what’s wrong is you! That’s just how it’s always been. But I’m going to fix that!” she smiled. It was too sweet, didn’t quite reach her eyes. He felt her hold on him falter. Whatever Wendell was doing, it was working. 

“You killed people,” he said, shaking his head. “You killed  _ me _ .”

“I didn’t kill you, honey. What happened was your own fault. You know I would never do anything to hurt you,” she said, her voice sharpening around the edges once more. “I was just blamed for your stupid mistakes. Like I always was. I’m cleaning up for you, honey. I’m doing this for you. Stop acting like a child.” 

“This has to stop. We had our chance at life, we can’t just take it away from these people.” 

“I’m doing this so we can be together again! Can’t you see that?”

“You’ve never done anything for anybody but yourself,” he yelled. “And I’m not going to be your puppet anymore! You took my whole life away from me, I’m not going to let you do that to anyone else!” 

Harry struggled as he felt Chelsea’s hand pull away from him, the pain lingered even as she screamed and ran at the other two ghosts. He fell back, the line of his spine hitting against the ground hard. His head bounced off of it, resulting in a burst of pain that spread over his scalp and down his neck. Beth stepped in front of Wendell, and the area around the collision sparked, igniting a large beam of light that was so harsh Harry had to shut his eyes against it. 

“Mel, now!” Maggie yelled from somewhere around him. He could hear the chanting, some sort of pulse of power, and a scream that was cut short. It was all followed by a sudden silence that was cut into by the harsh intake of breath. 

Then there was leaves being rustled and branches breaking under weight. 

“Harry,” someone  – no not someone – Macy said. He blinked his eyes opened to find her staring down at him. He felt something soft brushing against his jaw, the warmth of it sobering him as he reached up to clutch his chest. He ducked his head, trying to see if there had been any lasting damage that the ghost had caused. His hands clawed at his shirt to get it to move out of his way, but he was stopped by Macy’s hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look up at her. “You’re okay! You’re okay, Harry, you’re okay. Just breath. In. Out. Come on.”

He stopped, eyes finding her brown ones flickering over his face. Her hands steadied him as he forced air into his lungs and she gave him a little nod of encouragement. After a few deep breaths she glanced away and leaned back, taking her hands with her. 

When he looked up Mel and Maggie joined the scene above him. 

“The-?” he tried to ask, his tongue feeling heavy in his mouth. 

“They’re gone,” Mel answered. “All of them.”

“We performed the spell, but Wendell and Beth were still here, making sure that Ghouliet didn’t make a run for it,” Maggie said, smiling sadly. “They sacrificed themselves.” 

“Yeah, like you, you idiot,” Mel said, and he could feel the toe of her boot shove into his side. “What were you thinking? She could have killed you!” 

“That was so gross, she had her whole fist inside you. And not in the good kind of-”

“Maggie!” Macy and Mel warned in unison. Maggie held up her hands, eyes widening at the sudden attack. 

Harry, despite himself and the blush that warmed the skin of his cheeks at that sort of language, laughed. 

“Yeah, he’s really out of it,” Maggie commented as he sputtered. “Come on, let’s get him up before his laughing wakes up the Sleeping Beauties.” 

\--

He awoke the next morning in his own bed to find Macy sitting on the edge of it next to him. For a moment, a very brief and fuzzy moment as he began to resurface on the world of the awake, he thought this was one of his dreams. 

These were his favorite, he’d found, when he was led to believe that they could be together in the quiet of the morning to start the day together with the promise they would come back to end it together, too. 

But when he realized that this was in fact not a dream and that the first thing out of his mouth should not be the usual term of endearment that came to mind, he simply sat up and looked at her with a quizzical expression.

“Good morning to you, too,” she smiled, placing the tray she had on her lap across his. “We made you breakfast. And called in sick for you with that voice modifying spell Maggie found the other day. So you can have all day to rest up.” 

He chuckled at the thought of them trying to imitate him to his TA and colleagues, then sighed, “But I don’t need to-”

“Ah-ah,” Macy shook her head. He went to argue again but she gave him a look that made him shut his mouth. “You are going to stay here for the next few hours doing nothing and then you are going to come by our house to have lunch with Maggie, where she is going to leave you to read in the book nook until all three of us get home so we can watch whatever documentary you want.” There was a beat and he watched her eyebrows climb upward. “Do we have an understanding?” 

He blanched, and quickly picked up the tea cup that sat in the top right corner of the tray to sip from. Macy smiled and nodded once. 

“Good,” she said, standing. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Despite feeling as though he was doing something inherently wrong, did as he was told. He did nothing but catch up on grading and reply to emails in the beginning. Then when Maggie texted him saying she was home he orbbed to their house to share a meal with her. Mel joined later, having said that she gave her boss the excuse of needing to check in on a sick relative. 

“What?” she smirked when Harry gave her a look of disappointment. “It wasn’t like that’s a complete and total lie. You’re family and you’re recovering from a ghost injury!” 

It was nice. Pleasant. They discussed the upcoming Ogre meeting they had been able to set up, Maggie shared with them her and Lucy’s recent endeavor to help a Kappa sister get the low down on a boy in the theatre program, and Mel discussed the upcoming event The Haunt was hosting that she had to work before pleading with her sister to come to it so she wouldn’t have to be lonely. 

“You’ll be working!” Maggie whined. “I don’t want to go to some weirdly themed party that I don’t even have an outfit for.” 

“Macy and Harry are coming, so you’ll have them to talk to!” 

“I am?” he asked absently, frowning slightly. “I don’t recall agreeing to that.”

“You just did,” Mel said flippantly, her focus still on Maggie. “Come on! We went to that tacky Kappa family picnic for you the other day!” 

“Ugh! Fine,” Maggie relented and Mel smiled, clapping happily. “The things I do for you two.”

It wasn’t until later that night that all four of them had reunited from their daily duties. Or in Harry’s case, the lack thereof. Macy got home from the lab, changing into her pajamas like the rest of them as they waited for the food to be delivered. They were all sitting in the living room trying to decide on a film to watch, having completely thrown out his suggestion for a National Geographic documentary in favor of something more upbeat and fictionalized.

When someone knocked on the door he rose to his feet to allow them to continue their argument over what genre in the hopes hey would make up their minds while he retrieved the take-out. Only when he opened it he did not find the delivery man standing on the front porch. 

“Hiya, Harry!” Beth cried, jumping forwards to wrap her arms around him. The force of it made him stumble backwards into the house a few steps until he could catch her weight against his own. She squeezed him tight, giggling furiously as she twisted him back and forth. “Oh, it’s so good to see you! It feels like it’s been forever!”

“We saw one another yesterday,” he said, deadpan as the shock of seeing her was still diminishing. 

“Really? Feels like it’s been a whole other life time for me,” she said, pulling away to grin up at him. “Ghost time, I guess.” 

“Beth?” Maggie gasped. “Oh my god! Beth! You’re okay!” 

“Maggie!” Beth parroted, pushing away from Harry who, again, tripped over himself as she went to meet Maggie in the middle where they clutched one another’s forearms and bounced in the middle of the living room laughing. 

“What are you doing here?” Maggie grinned, “Not that I don’t love seeing you! And- oh my gosh! I can touch you! And hear your thoughts! You’re-!”

“Alive!” Beth finished for her, then paused, her eyes cutting up and to the side briefly as she seemed to ponder her choice of words. “Sort of, anyways. I don’t know what they called it since I’m kind of in between life and death? But they gave me and Wendell a second chance after they saw what we did!” 

“Who did?” 

“The Angels.”

“Angels?” 

“Yeah! Well, that’s what they called themselves, anyways. They didn’t really have the wings and other sorts of things. They looked like me and you, but they’re supposedly a group of ghosts that have been around for centuries,” Beth nodded. “They made me a Cupid!” 

“They  _ what? _ ” Harry asked then, having been able to shut the door and follow her into the living room. She grinned at him from over her shoulder. From there he could take in the differences in her appearance. 

Her clothes were more modern, jeans and a t-shirt covered up in a bright pink jean jacket. Her sneakers looked well worn in and her socks held a funky design. Even her hair was let loose around her shoulders, her bangs spun into a braid that was pinned back. Her skin was vibrant, the pink undertones alive as the ghastly look of death had been erased from her being. 

She looked happy, he decided. 

“I’m a Cupid! They said it was now my job to help fate along, I guess,” she shrugged. “Bringin’ two people together at the same time to find one another if their paths get lost along the way. Or they’re just super stubborn.” 

“That’s so romantic!” Maggie gushed. “Oh, do me, do me! Is there anything you can tell me about my soulmate?” 

Beth narrowed her eyes at Maggie, her irises glowing pink, only for her to blink and the light to disappear. She frowned, “Sorry, doll, you’ve not got one.”

“Wait,” Mel perked up, “soulmates are real? Not just some literary device to romanticize the concept of the impossible perfect counterpart and make people believe they’re not complete as an individual?” 

“Sure,” Beth said. “But it’s very rare to see. Most of the time that kind of bond is formed and grown over time, not born with. There’s just too many variables to assign things like that from the start. What we try to do is match people who belong together, but maybe the timing isn’t right or maybe they aren’t ready to be with them due to emotional or mental baggage. Even if the relationships don’t last, it’s what those two souls need in that moment. We kind of...shove people in the right direction, if you will.”

Macy coughed then, and Harry barely caught the wink Beth sent her way.

How strange. 

Maggie gasped suddenly, and Beth clung onto her as her mouth fell open, “No!” 

“Yes!” 

“No way!” 

“Yes way!” 

Maggie squealed, “Can I-?”

“No!” Beth said, pulling Maggie closer when she pouted. “That’s between you and me until...well-” 

“Ugh! But when-?”

“You know I can’t tell you that!” Beth shushed her and Maggie stamped her feet in frustration as she whined. 

“What is going on here?” Harry whispered, leaning close to Mel. She shook her head. 

“I have no idea,” she deadpanned, and looked back down at her phone. “It’s just like Maggie to become BFFL’s with a spirit o’ love.” 

“But, anyways, I just wanted to stop by and thank you all for what y’all did for me,” Beth sighed, releasing Maggie of her hold and walking over to hug Macy. “If it wasn’t for you I’d still be dead and my best friend would be a zombie slave to his psycho murderer ex.” 

“How is Wendell?” Mel looked up from her phone, a worried look on her face. Beth smiled.

“He’s okay. He’s with his family again,” she said. “I’ll tell him you guys said hi.”

“Are you leaving?” Maggie asked, then gestured to the television. “We were just about to watch a movie, if you wanted to join us! We can even watch a romcom!” 

Beth laughed, but shook her head, “No I’ve got to get going. I’ve got a couple of gals over in Vermont who are in need of my help.” 

The sisters wished their friend a safe journey, walking her to the door. Harry stayed back, only giving Beth a wave of his hand for fear of another bear hug should he get any closer. He watched on as Mel and Maggie came back to the living room, Macy lingering in the doorway as she and Beth exchanged words outside of his range. He quickly tried to look as though he had not been staring when Beth caught his eye, but could only keep his gaze elsewhere before returning to the two. They hugged once more, and then Beth stepped backwards out of Macy’s reach. 

She shut the door and came back to sit beside Harry on the couch. She patted his shoulder when he looked at her with concern, “I’m fine, Harry.” 

“Are you sure?” he inquired and she nodded. 

“Yeah. She’s got a whole new life ahead of her,” she said, then looked at her sisters as they fought over whether or not they would be watching  _ Footloose  _ from 1984 or the 2011 version before returning her eyes to him, “And I’ve got mine right here.” 


	3. Oath No You Didn't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still unbeta-ed, sorry for all the mistakes!

Several years ago Harry had watched Fiona Callaghan, manipulated beyond his own comprehension, be dragged away against her will. Her pleads of mercy that had echoed off the dark streets still followed him around in his nightmares. 

Harry could recall feeling sick with guilt. Why could he not help her? Why could the Elders not wipe the memories of those who had seen her magic? Why was this her punishment? Had she not been through enough? Surely they would see that, even through her faults, she was still a witch who needed their protection? 

Harry asked these questions to one of the Elders. He did not remember who, another memory stolen from him in a round of reprogramming to get him to submit most likely. 

He did remember their answer, though. 

_ “The Elders need not ask permission of you prior to enacting punishment to those who have stepped out of line.” _

He received a similar answer when asking after previous Charges. His attempts to help them, _ “There must be another way!” _ falling on deaf ears. 

_ “Harry Greenwood,” _ Elder Silver’s voice had dripped with hostility, _ “this is how it must be. Just as it has always been. We gave you life. Allow me to remind you that we can just as easily take it away. Who are you, a Whitelighter, to question us?” _

_ “No one,” _ Harry recited, as the Elders looked down upon him from their balconies. 

_ “You may believe yourself to be her friend,” _ Elder Monroe said, _ “but you are not. It is not your job to grow emotionally attached or to act without consulting us for guidance. You are there to provide protection for your Charge and report back to us. Nothing more. Under no circumstances should you think you have say in our rulings that would change Fiona’s path in anyway.” _

The Elders had allowed Fiona to stay in the hospital under constant surveillance, forbidding him from trying to rescue her. He had not been allowed to so much as visit her. The doctors diagnosed her with schizophrenia, and it all ended as terribly as Harry had worried it would. 

And then it had turned out to be a lie. Everything had been. In the end, he had left Fiona to be eternally tortured and trusted a woman so selfish that she had turned to murder as the answer to her problems. 

All he had wanted to do was fix his past mistakes to ensure that Mel, Maggie, and Macy remained safe and unharmed. After he had returned to the Charmed Ones’ side, freed from any ties, he had decided, then and there, that he would think for himself and that the safety of the sisters came above all else. 

And yet Harry had failed them several times.

Not allowing Mel to tell Niko the truth, not knowing that Parker was a Demon, trusting Charity, letting Macy use her Demon side, being unable to save Galvin, letting Maggie be kidnapped by Alastair, sitting idly by as Macy took on the power of the Source, to name a few. 

Now that they were the governing body of the Magical World he had no choice but to step back and allow them to carve their own path with no interference, especially from Harry. They had one another to count on, witches reporting to them from around the country, several diplomats from various communities, and so on and so forth. 

They could have more, should they so desire. 

Mel seemed to be focused on her new position, taking the job very seriously, to think about her love life as of late. Maggie had announced that while she wouldn’t be waiting by the door for Parker to return to her she was going to give her heart a moment’s rest before allowing someone back into it. Eventually he knew that there would be new faces he would need to worry about when they began to find their new partners, though. And Macy, well...

Macy could have anyone. 

She would want someone else after the loss of Galvin no longer stung as it once did. If her eagerness in meeting with the new faculty member she would constantly mention, Mr. Fielding, was anything to go by. Harry could not take that away from her, could not tell her, _ ‘I don’t want you falling for someone else because I want you to fall in love with me.’ _

He was well acquainted with wanting and not having. Because it did not matter what Harry wanted. That lesson had been drilled so far into his mind ever since he had ever been brought back from the dead. Harry should not think without waiting for the Elder’s confirmation. Harry did not know what was best for his Charges without the Elder’s input. Harry ruined everything he placed his hand upon, even when he was trying to heal a wound, but by some miracle he had still been assigned to serve the Charmed Ones.

After Fiona had ‘died’ and he had been unable to continue his relationship with Charity he had still wanted her, though he was ashamed to admit such a thing now. She had manipulated him, made him think she cared for him in the slightest by hiding behind a tangled web of lies instead of showing her true self. The one that really only cared for had always been herself. And she had been good at it, making him believe every word she said. 

He had thought Charity would be it for him, once. But, as it were, fate had other plans. 

He had tried to stomp down on anything that so much as hinted at the start of romantic feelings after he had been reassigned. It hadn’t been difficult, having lived for so long he knew the difference between a crush that would fade to friendship and admiration as opposed to the flickering embers of love. 

So when he had started to have feelings for Macy he had fully expected them to diffuse into the friendship they had been in the middle of building. But by the time he had fully comprehended that he and the Charmed Ones were in it for the long haul his feelings had proven to be rather stubborn. 

And then, next thing he knew, Macy had already heard that he was more than a little in love with her before he himself had been given the time to properly analyze it. The impending apocalypse had been rather stressful, you see, not giving him much time to think about anything else.

He was still unsure of how it happened. 

Or, well, no he wasn’t. He had admitted to being lonely to her in the attic after attending Galvin’s birthday party, and that sense of isolation had about pulled him under the water like an anchor tied to his feet. He had been drowning and completely unaware of it until she allowed him to breathe air into his lungs. 

_ “You’re a good friend,” _ she had told him. 

With Charity it had been an accident. He had fallen into her traps like the ignorant git he was. Twice over. In the end, she had been a completely different person. 

But then again, he had been, too. 

And with Macy, nothing had been a surprise. He loved her with purpose. He knew what was coming and had tried to fight against it, pleading with himself to stop, to not ruin this as he had managed to with numerous other things. 

It had been too late for that, though. One touch from him was all it had taken. Much like everything else in his life.

But he could not bring himself to regret the way he felt. Not when he would be standing on the edge of a room filled with people he did not know, telling a story to appease the other members of the Women’s Studies faculty, and his clothing felt too tight and uncomfortable against his skin upon knowing that the smiles were fake and the conversation pointless, because Macy was saying, _ “Thanks, Harry...You’re a good friend.” _

And even when they were able to move passed that rocky phase, Macy was able to show how much she valued Harry as her friend, even if she did it in a manner that confused the daylights out of Harry trying to navigate their relationship. As she had warned, several times over, she was not very good at talking about her feelings up front. 

But she laughed at his dry humor and it would reverberate off his chest like an earthquake. Genuinely thinking he was funny, she laughed behind her hands as her sisters looked on in misery. And she was comfortable to the point of allowing Harry to join her at the kitchen table, their elbows knocking against one another every now and then while they worked on their respective projects for the University. 

It would be easier, Harry knew, if Macy didn’t like him. It would hurt, of course, but Harry would have been able to handle it better. At least then he would be able to find a new Whitelighter to protect them and he wouldn’t have to worry. But no, he was stuck watching Macy’s nose scrunch at him from across the table at dinner and with Macy making an understanding face when she found him downstairs in their kitchen after a nightmare, needing to be nearer to his Charges and with Macy looping her arm around his as they walked together across campus and with Macy as he helped her with her powers and trading quips with her when she asked him to watch _ Heaven’s Vice _ that he would, under no circumstances, tell her he actually enjoyed. 

Often times Harry prefered this. Even if Macy would never love him in return like Harry loved her he still had her friendship and he could make her happy with that. 

But...sometimes he would catch Macy’s eye and watch as she grinned at him as she waited for the coffee machine to finish brewing and his chest would ache so hard he was sure whatever the Vortex Viribus had done for him was reversing.

Like now, as he walked beside her following behind Mel and Maggie. She had laughed when a branch had caught him by the sleeve of his coat, helping to get him untangled before it could tear a hole in the fabric. It made something between his ribs twinge in the sweetest of ways. 

They were in Minnesota searching for the Relligo Flower in the Chippewa National Forest for a spell the sisters needed for a potion for a fellow witch. 

“We’ve got some time before sundown. We should split up,” she suggested, looking up from the map she had pulled up on her phone. Mel and Maggie stopped, turning around to listen. “There’s another trail that’s supposed to round the river. The Book said the flowers grow around water, so if we follow it up and down the bank we should spot something. It rounds back to the campsite, so we can meet back there for Harry to get us home.”

“I’ll go with Harry.” Maggie grabbed onto his arm and yanked him forward. He followed, only allowed a single glance back to the elder sisters who had confused expressions on their faces. “We’ll see you guys later!” 

They split off down the path, walking up the river, when Maggie finally released him of her hold. 

“These trees are super pretty.” It had only taken several steps for her to break the silence. “And crazy tall.” 

“Hmm?” he glanced around them, drawing his gaze upward at the trees that toward over them. The trees seated at the line between forest and plains were majestic, but the ones further in were gods. They formed near pure strands for miles on end. “Yes, I suppose they are.” 

“You know who else is like, super pretty and tall?” 

“Beyoncé?” he ventured a guess, half paying attention to her ramblings as his eyes scanned the river’s side. 

“Nooo,” Maggie replied, then paused. “Well, yes, but not who I was going to say.”

He glanced up at her and smiled, fond of her antics, “Then who, might I ask, were you going to compliment?” 

“Macy! I mean, aren’t her gorgeous curls to die for? And when she’s in heels? I mean, wow, talk about a snacc. Two C’s.” 

Harry hummed in agreement. 

“You know what else Macy has?” 

“What?” 

“A really great-”

“Ah, there it is!” he blurted, keeping Maggie from finishing her thought. Harry hadn’t meant to do it on purpose, not really, since he hadn’t actually been listening fully to what she was saying. 

Which, yes, he would admit was rather rude, but if he were to entertain Maggie everytime she got off topic they would have never gotten any work done. But he had spotted the flower they had been searching for at the base of a tree nearing the edge of the river. “We’ll have to be careful when uprooting it since it’s not just the petals you’ll be needing for the potion. Did you bring the-”

“Harry!” Maggie whined, slapping her hands down against the side of her thighs. He frowned at her as she let her head fall back to let out a groan of annoyance. “I cannot believe I just gave you the perfect opening to tell me about your feelings for Macy and you blew it!” 

“I-” he fumbled over a few syllables until he could keep from choking on his own tongue. “_ What? _” 

“Oh, don’t act so innocent,” her eyes squinted at him. “I can feel how in love you are with her! At first I didn’t think it was that kind of love, but I totally figured it out a few weeks ago. And then this morning at breakfast when you passed me the muffins and Macy was getting a plate from the high shelf and her shirt rode up-”

“Margarita Vera!” 

“It’s not my fault!” she squeaked. “You’re usually so hard to read I never had to worry about it before!” 

He tore his eyes away from her, heat rising unpleasantly on his neck. Shame washed over him like a tsunami wave, whisking him out to sea. 

“Oh, Harry,” Maggie piped up, the empathy tangible in her tone. “I can feel your anxiety from here. I’m not mad! I’m not anything! No, wait, that sounds bad. I’m happy for you, I think it’s cute!” 

Harry let out a bark of laughter though it tasted bitter on his tongue. He watched as Maggie winced and shook her head.

“Okay, not cute. Sweet? Adorable? So totally everything I could ever want for my big sister?” she asked, her smile growing as she went. He didn’t know what to do, feeling very much like prey caught in the sights of a predator. Harry stood still before her, his thoughts and emotions suddenly turning into a jumbled mess. He felt as though, if he moved, everything would come spilling out of him, unable to keep it from pouring once it started.

“Maggie,” he sighed and she stamped her boots against the trail. 

“No! Don’t ‘_ Maggie’ _ me!” she said, her impression of his accent a little insulting if he were being honest, “This is a good thing! I thought I was going to have to sign you up for old man Tinder since the Elders, may they rest in peace, aren’t keeping you from getting your date on. But you two are like, so perfect for one another! And I…” He looked up from where he had been fiddling with the planter as she carried on, watching as her expression softened, a quiet smile on her features, “I see the way you look at her, Harry. I never really paid attention until the other night, but-”

“Maggie, nothing could ever become of it,” he said, needing for her to stop this nonsense. She was trying to get his hopes up without knowing the whole of the story. It was already embarrassing enough to catch himself in the act, it was mortifying to hear that he had become so careless that it was obvious to onlookers. If Maggie could see it then surely Macy could, too. And here he had thought he was getting better at hiding his affections. 

“Why not?” She stepped closer to him. “The echo of your longing kept me up all night! You _ love _ her, Harry, you have to tell her!” 

“She already knows,” he admitted, quiet. A sad smile formed on his face when Maggie blinked up at him in confusion. 

“What? No, that’s...that can’t be right.”

“It is,” Harry continued. Upon her wrinkled brow, he gave a soft sigh, knowing he would be unable to resist her pouting for the remainder of his life and prepared to tell her, “When Macy took on the Source one of her powers was the ability to read minds. When I tried to speak with her I made the mistake of touching her arm whilst thinking that I-...well. Anyways, she made it very clear that she did not return my feelings. Which is valid, as you know she had just lost and resurrected Galvin, and was dealing with all that concentrated power praying on her deepest insecurities and fears. It was unfair of me to reveal my feelings to her at the time, so I suggested that we pretend it never happened.”

“And she agreed,” Maggie concluded aloud. He nodded. “Oh my god, that’s why you said you made her uncomfortable. Because she knew you were in love with her?” 

Again, all he could do was nod, feeling as though his thread was unraveling now, helpless to stop Maggie from running her fingers across it to find all the hidden secrets he had kept wrapped within him so tightly. “I had no intention of making her life more difficult. She was never supposed to hear those thoughts.” 

“Oh, Harry,” Maggie breathed out. He peaked over at her to find Maggie crying, her eyebrows screwed up in concern. 

“Maggie, there’s no need to be so upset,” he tried, but she ignored him in favor of enveloping him in a hug. 

“I can’t believe this,” she said. “How could she do this to you?”

“She is not doing anything to me.” He rubbed a soothing hand over her back. “None of this is Macy’s fault. I cannot expect her to feel anything in return solely because I do.” 

“But you’re still pining,” she argued, pulling back to frown at him. “Like a big ol’ pine tree. No, a whole forest of pine trees. With lots of little pine cones.”

He chuckled, using the sleeve of his coat to wipe the tears from her cheeks, “Perhaps. But I’m alright. We’ve worked it out.”

“_ Worked it out _?” Maggie sniffled, then shook her head. “You’ve been in love with her for like, months, Harry. You’re in pain. Aren’t you always the one saying to let go of the past and move on?”

“Maggie, as someone who is going through something similar, I would have thought you to understand that just because there is something in front of you, be it a tunnel or the night or love itself, that does not mean you give up. You keep going.” When he’d thought Fiona died it had there had been moments where he had been convinced that there was no chance in the world for him to return to normal. 

But he had learned that there were going to be things that happened that you could not dwell on for forever. And as a Whitelighter it was imperative that he persevere, for the sake of his Charge. If the sun did not rise again, he would figure out a way to go on without its light. Learn. Adapt. Make the world something livable again for those who were in his care. 

Mel had lost Niko and he had tried to get her a job to start anew. 

Maggie had been thrown into Tartarus and he had asked to take her pain, had encouraged her to allow her emotions to be her strength just as they always had been. 

Macy had witnessed Galvin sacrificing himself, had been consumed by the Source, and had to move on in a life without her first love and he had tried to comfort her in ways that were not overstepping. 

“But...I mean, I know Macy is like super amazing and everything but, why haven’t you…?” she gestured vaguely toward him.

“Sometimes we have to accept that there are certain people who can be in here,” he pressed a hand to his chest, “but not where we want them to be in our lives. Parker may not be here, but he’s still in your heart, isn’t he? And Niko for Mel, yes?” 

Maggie made a sound of sad annoyance, her shoulders falling as she nodded, “It’s different for us though. Parker is who knows where and you get to see Macy everyday, basically. So, how does that work? Missing someone who’s right here?”

The words made his throat tighten, as if there was a hand wrapped around it squeezing until he could no longer breathe. He managed to swallow around it and get out, “I’m afraid I don’t know.” 

“You’re not leaving,” Maggie said instantly, her hand reaching out to circle around his wrist. Her expression wavered after a moment. “...right?” 

“I’m not going anywhere,” he assured her, placing his hand over her own on his arm, “So long as you three will continue to have me as your Whitelighter. I’ve...been doing my best to keep it from tainting your duties.”

“I wouldn’t have thought anything was going on until after your big fight,” Maggie said. “And then when you were helping me with my outfit the other night and Macy came home when you were passing me those ugly pair of shoes I felt everything. I mean, shit, Harry when you let down your shields it’s a _ lot _.”

“My apologies,” he said, taking a mental note to remain vigilant around Maggie when Macy was present so he wouldn’t overwhelm her or make her feel awkward due to his unwarranted emotions. She scoffed, flicking him in the forehead. He flinched back, bringing a hand up to touch the stinging skin above his brow. 

Harry stared at her in disbelief before uttering an offended, “Ow!”

“Stop that! I’m not freaked out about you having the hots for my sister!” 

“I do not-!” he cut himself off, reschooling his voice so he was not shouting. Even though he knew both Mel and Macy were out of the hearing range he still glanced behind them down the trail. Harry spoke again, his volume brought down but the ferocity of his tone was the same, “I am not repeating your colorful language, but I must insist that that does not apply to this situation.”

“Yeahyeahyeah, I know,” Maggie rolled her eyes. “Your thoughts are too pure. All that wanting to ‘_ woo her,’ _ or _ ‘court her,’ _ and ‘ _ wishing her happiness’. _ Even when her shirt rode up all I caught was like 5% arousal and 95% you wanting to help her out. Although, Harry, I hate to break it to you but you’re only like one inch taller than her.” 

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to get rid of the tension that had accumulated, “Oh, I cannot believe we are having this conversation as of this moment.”

“I know, I should have come to you sooner!” she pouted. “You poor thing! You’ve had to deal with this all on your own. I’m sorry, Har, but everyone in this house was going through heartache, I just thought it was Mel and Macy’s pain I was catching. I had no idea it was you, too. I should know everyone’s emotions well enough by now to tell you apart.” 

“That’s alright, Maggie. Truth be told, I never wanted either you or Mel to find out,” he said. “It was awkward enough with one of you knowing.” 

“You don’t have to feel awkward, Harry! Now that I know you can totally vent to me, just like when I rant about Parker to you,” Maggie patted his arm with encouragement. “Come on, tell me, what’s Macy done that’s got you all hot and bothered today?”

He stared at her for a moment and then raised his hands, “I can’t do this.” 

“I’m kidding!” she said quickly. “I’m kidding. I’m sorry. I was just trying to lighten the mood. You know you can be open with me. And I promise I won’t tell Macy anything.”

“I don’t want to bother you with this.”

“You aren’t! I want to help!” Her hands gesturing animatedly. “Do you want me to talk to her about it? Do a little recon to see what’s up?”

“No,” he replied, almost cutting her off. Harry shook his head, “No, absolutely not.” 

“Well then maybe just talking about it with me will help you cope?” 

She had a point, he supposed. It did feel a little freeing to be able to speak on the subject instead of pondering over it inside his head where he would overthink every little detail. But he hated the idea of talking about Macy behind her back to her own sister. 

“I couldn’t ask that of you,” he decided. “You and your sisters have been very good with communication as of late, if you were to harbor my secrets that might drive a wedge between the three of you and that is the last thing I would want. My feelings are not your weight to bare, just as they are not Macy’s. They’re mine, and I will carry them on my own. Though I do appreciate the offer.” 

Maggie nodded in understanding and smiled at him, “You’re a good guy, Harry.” 

“Thank you,” he said, though he felt undeserving of the compliment. Harry allowed a beat to pass and then turned back to the flowers. “Now, let’s get to work.” 

Maggie groaned. 

They managed to pull up several of the flowers and plant them in the small planter they had brought with them. Harry made sure they were snug, pressing down lightly on the soil so that the plants would not fall out easily during transport. 

Maggie was dusting off her hands when he heard Mel’s voice echoing in his ears. “_ Harry!” _

It was followed by Macy’s and he stood, gathering the pot into his arms. “Your sisters are calling for us. Quickly!” 

He did not wait for a response before grabbing hold of Maggie’s arm. 

When they reappeared, they were standing in front of the older sisters. No longer on the path, and somewhere well into the forest, Harry looked around them in search of danger. Maggie let go of him to run to her sisters. Behind him was a far drop below as they were standing too close to the rim of a cliff. 

He set down the planter and locked eyes with Macy when a figure appeared behind the Charmed Ones. 

“Girls!” he shouted, and she ducked just in time, pulling her sisters down with her as the figure made a large arc with the swipe of their hand that held some sort of glowing blade. Angered at the miss, the person lunged forward, but Macy already had a branch raised to throw back at the figure. It managed to knock them off balance, but a growl emanated before they disappeared in a cloud of smoke. 

The girls all helped one another to their feet, Harry closing the distance between them to complete the small huddle. They all stood back to back, scanning the woods for any sign of the figure. 

“What is that thing?” Maggie asked.

“We don’t know,” Mel replied, her breathing labored. “It just poofed in front of us when we were getting the flowers, and next thing we know we’re in a freaking horror movie with a cliche killer and his rusty machete.” 

“We should go,” Harry said. “There’s no use in-”

“No way.” Mel shook her head. “We can’t leave until we get that thing, who knows how many people it’ll try to hurt when we leave.” 

“Mel’s right,” Macy chimed in. 

“Ugh, why can’t we ever just go somewhere without someone trying to kill us?” Maggie said.

Everything stilled and Harry could feel the shift in energy changing, signaling the reappearance of their unwelcome guest. Before he could shout a warning the figure was there, prying Macy away from the group. 

“Hey!” Mel shouted and the figure briefly turned to her, livid. She pushed Maggie behind her as the shadowy outline of a person reached out a hand for her throat. With them temporarily distracted Harry launched himself at the figure only to have it disappear before he could make contact. 

Macy was released and when he looked up she was stumbling back, back, back- 

Toward the drop off. 

“Wait!” he yelled, running forward to haul her back by the arm. Once she was stable he turned back to Maggie and Mel, reaching his other hand out to them. “Hurry! I can orb us-” 

Before he could finish his sentence the figure appeared once more, between himself and Macy. It grabbed onto where Harry’s hand was on Macy’s arm and he thought it was trying to get him to let go with the shock it sent through him. When he didn’t release her its hands moved to her shoulders and with a single definitive push thrust her backward off the edge. 

Harry kept his hold on her hand as they fell, knowing that it was a ‘let go or be dragged with,’ situation, and there was no way he was going to allow her to fall on without him there to catch her. 

He managed to muster up enough energy to orb in the split second, the only place he could think to go the bottom they had been barreling toward. They appeared on the ground with the same momentum, and in the chaos of sliding down the small hill there Harry’s hold of Macy was dislodged, her fingers sliding away from his palm. 

The second it did, pain found its way into his system. 

The sensation crawled upward between his ribs. At first it had been uncomfortable, as if someone was digging their fingers into his skin a tad too forcefully, but after a moment it resembled a burning sensation, only it lacked any metaphorical poetics. He seized his middle, clenching his jaw to keep the noises that threatened to emerge from the back of his throat.

Something was breaking inside of him, having let loose a flood of emotion that had built up behind its walls.

A ragged inhale precluded another whimper as he tried to calm himself against the onslaught of emotion that was plaguing his body. The sensation reminded him of Tartarus, being forced to feel every negative thing locked away in his mind for decades all at once. 

Only this time, it was an ache. The one he had been living with for months that had sat heavy in his chest ever since he and Macy had walked arm and arm to the house from the graveyard. It was familiar, apart of him now as he had become accustomed to spending everyday with it pinned to his heart. That ache for the part of him he had lost that day, having fallen too deep with nothing to catch it down below. It clawed to find its way out like an animal, wanting to come back from the darkness it had been forced into. 

But it couldn’t. The pain carved into his chest, on the hunt for his heart. Only to find that he had been hollowed out already, scraped raw. His heart was somewhere else.

With someone else. 

The person whose skin was where the moonlight hid during the day, whose mouth could form sentences that pulled the stars closer to listen, whose glance alone could make him feel this vulnerable. She could crack him open, giving herself room to reach inside and tear him apart. 

Macy. 

She landed several meters beyond him and had not stirred. Harry called out to her but could not hear his own voice. He couldn’t hear anything except the tide of a raging storm inside him. In and out, clutching and howling and wanting and slamming up against the rocky cliff face. 

He drug himself across the forest floor, digging his fingers into the softened Earth to pull himself over to her. His mouth filled with saliva as a wave of nausea crashed over him. He was trying, desperate to reach her because he couldn’t accept that she was hurt beyond his repair. Could not even fathom the idea. The very notion of it rocked his world like a precursor to the second coming apocalypse.

He laid still for a moment, trying to build back up his strength to continue when Macy flinched. Her mouth was moving on a groan or perhaps a string of words, but he couldn’t hear her to know the difference. 

_ Macy, I’m here! _ he yelled, but his voice fell silent in his throat. And he could see that Macy was talking but nothing could break through the roaring in his ears. He tried to inch forward but everything hurt. Everything, every part of him, even his hair. 

All he could do was reach out and hope. Macy rolled her head to the side, her eyes focusing on him in an instant. She extended her hand towards his at the same time. 

Their hands connected, fingers twining. 

The relief was instantaneous, the force of it almost as shocking as the pain itself. 

The first thing he heard was Macy’s breathing. A melody he would never tire of. 

“Macy?” Able to lift himself onto his knees to crawl the remainder of the distance, Harry knelt beside her. He already had his hand ready, healing magic illuminating the darkness around them. “Are you alright? Are you hurt? Where-?”

“I’m okay,” she coughed, using her other hand to push herself up into a sitting position. She blinked widely. Macy looked at him then tore her gaze away to shake her head, “What the hell was that? That pain, I-...I thought I was dying. It was-”

“Excruciating,” he finished for her when she couldn’t seem to find the right word. 

“Yeah,” she blew out a sharp breath, her fingers curling tighter around his. “But now I feel completely fine?” 

He took inventory and found that he, too, felt surprisingly okay. Normal even. The pain that had been collapsing his chest from the inside out was gone entirely. Harry looked down at their clasped hands. 

He met Macy’s eyes that were narrowed in curiosity. Ever the scientist, needing to test the question he knew was crossing her mind, he felt her grip begin to release.

“Wait,” he protested, gripping on tighter. _ Harry! Where are you? Harry! _ The Vera sisters’ voices called out from both in his own head and from up above them. “Your sisters are still in trouble.” 

He orbbed them before Macy could edge in a protest. They appeared, still on the ground, in the middle of a fight scene, the dark figure running up on the Veras. Macy got to her feet in an instant, pulling him up with her, as she went to stand with her sisters. The three took hands and Harry could feel the power of their magic linking up through his hand in Macy’s. 

Energy emanated from them into a tangible entity, the pink like forcefield growing larger and larger until it expanded in a strong blast. The force of it shook the branches of the trees, cutting through the smoke creature. 

It tried to fight against it, but they were no match for the Power of Three. Seeming to catch onto this the figure pulled a knife from the folds of their cloak and took aim. It managed to throw it before dissolving in the light of the spell, its cries of anguish the only thing it left behind. 

Harry, using his hold on Macy who was attached to her sisters, focused on orbbing them back to the house and out of the range of the incoming blade. 

They were standing in the entrance way just inside the door, surrounded by the safety of the house and the light of the lamp Maggie had left on despite Harry instructing her to turn it off before she joined them in the attic to depart. 

Everyone was looking at one another, taking a head count as they tried to catch their breath.

He met Mel’s eyes first, watching as her relieved smile turned into horror when her gaze traveled down to his torso. Harry peared down to see what it was she was looking at. The handle of the knife, apparently, where it was sticking out of his abdomen. Harry smiled at the three sisters and held up a finger, trying to assure them that he would be fine. He just needed a moment to recollect himself before they could proceed. 

And then he promptly collapsed to his knees. 

Macy was at his side, pulling him back into her lap.

“Harry?” Macy was saying. “Harry, look at me. It’s okay, you’re okay. Hey, look at me!” 

And because it was his job to do so, Harry did what was asked of him, looking up at her beautiful face. 

He could see the fear and worry there before it was replaced with flashes of black eyes, dark veins running underneath, tears falling onto her cheeks, bruised and bloody skin, the look of betrayal after she had heard his thoughts. Harry briefly tried to jerk away, thinking_ I can’t hurt her again _, but she just gripped his arm tighter. 

“Macy?” he breathed. 

“Yeah?” she said and in the background he could see Mel and Maggie’s worried faces coming into view, blurring around the edges.

“Do you think this will stain?” Harry asked, looking down at the handle sticking out of his abdomen. Her laughter sounded like it was fading in his ears and he thought, well, that wasn’t such a bad note to go out on, now was it?

The pain cut through him, building up to a snap, like he’d splinter. 

There was a hand on his face, another making its way up his arm to his shoulder and up to curl around the back of his neck and into his hair. And the pain was gone.

Everything was.

\--

He shot up, gasping for air as his hands clutched at the soft fabrics surrounding him. 

“Harry!” a voice said and it was Macy, leaning forward in a chair set up beside the bed. Her bed, he concluded with a glance around the room. Her room. “Hey! Hey, you’re okay! You’re at our house.” 

“I…” he found her eyes, “Maggie, Mel-?”

“Are fine,” she smiled. “They’re sleeping.”

“Sleeping?” 

“Calm down or you’re going to tear your stitches.” 

“Stitches?” 

“Are you just going to keep repeating me in the form of questions or are you going to sit back and let me explain?”

He took a breath. Then another and then, slowly, he settled back down into the pillows. She nodded in approval. 

“Good. And yes, Harry, stitches. You got stabbed.” She tilted her head at him. “Do you remember that?” 

“Unfortunately,” he grumbled as that had been a complete amateur move on his part. “The last thing I remember was falling in the foyer.” 

“You were unresponsive and we had a great big debate about what to do. Of course we couldn’t call 911 because that would mean having to explain what happened, and we couldn’t exactly tell the doctors that some kind of smoke demon threw a knife at you without them trying to emit us, too,, and were to panicky to come up with a better lie. So we ended up calling Attina Lockheart, she was that Xana who needed our help with the demon who was using racoons to spread that weird rabies virus? She’s a doctor, so thankfully she could get you all fixed up,” she explained. 

“How long has it been?” 

“Only a couple of hours.” She pressed her lips together, allowing her eyes to fall away from him, “Although it felt like way longer.” 

It was then that he took notice of their hands, linked together above the covers. Seeming to take notice of his silence Macy looked back up and sighed.

“Yeah, that still hasn’t gone away, either. I tried to let go of you when Attina was ready. And for a second I thought…” she trailed off, then shrugged. “But then the pain came back and I couldn’t risk it. Not when you were already, you know, dying.”

“I’m sure I was not dying.”

“You had a knife-!” Macy cried then caught herself, glancing at her door. When neither Mel or Maggie came crashing through she turned back to pin him down with a glare. “You had a knife in your stomach, Harry, it could have hit something major. You could have-”

“But I didn’t,” he stopped her. “You saw to it that I would be alright, and here I am.” 

Her glare only became more severe as she seemed to try to bottle up the angry reply threatening to come out. Apparently, she was unable to, “You_ cannot _ be serious right now. You were stabbed! With a rusty knife! If the initial wound didn’t kill you then maybe infection or something getting into your bloodstream will.” 

“Macy-”

“No! You always do this! Every time, it’s like you don’t even care about your own well being.” 

“I’m your-”

“Harry, I swear to God, if you say _ I’m your Whitelighter _ to me right now I’m going to- to-” she struggled and then let out a frustrated breath. “I don’t know what, but it won’t be pleasant.” 

Anger began to burn hot inside of him. Did she not think him competent? Had he not shown that he was capable enough to serve her? “It is my job to keep you safe, just because I happen to get harmed in the middle of these things does not mean that I’ve the intention of doing so on purpose.” 

“Whatever, we have other things to deal with right now.” She lifted up their hands. “What’re we going to do about this?” 

“I don’t know.” He sighed, exasperated. “I barely have a clue as to what _ this _ is.” 

“You’re our walking-talking text book about these kinds of things, and you don’t have any idea? Anything at all?”

“If I did, do you think I wouldn’t tell you?” Harry sputtered. “Why are you angry with me? It’s not as if I’m the one who put this curse on us.” 

“Well we have to think of something, we can’t hold hands for forever. I told Maggie and Mel about it, but how are we supposed to explain this to other people?”

“We’ll think of something, for now we should-”

“There has to be a way to build up some kind of tolerance. I was able to let go for a few minutes after we’d been attached for a while,” she continued, ignoring him completely as her mind set to work on trying to put the pieces of the puzzle into their place. “Maybe we’ve built up enough now. It’s been hours since I let go.” 

“Macy,” he tried, already exhausted and only having been awake for no more than ten minutes. Before he could get another word in she yanked her hand out of his. 

The moment she did the pain returned with a vengeance. It was stronger than he remembered, begging to be felt. He watched as Macy squeezed her eyes shut, clearly trying to fight against whatever it was, but could not hear her as her lips moved, her words lost. She reached out to take back his hand, clutching it close to her chest. 

Relief settled in, the pain releasing him completely. 

“Okay.” Macy looked shaken as she cleared her throat, “So, that’s still the worst.” 

She scooted forward in her chair to lay his hand back down on the bed, turning his wrist over so that his palm was to the ceiling. He watched, his heart flipping over in his chest, as she sandwiched his hand between hers. A thumb ran over his knuckles. The addition of her hand gave him another feeling deep set in his chest, only this time it was not one of pain but of content. As if it was healing him from the inside out. 

The anger, along with the pain, seemed to have vanished from her system. Her brow no longer furrowed, her shoulders slouching. Macy leaned closer and the warmth inside of him bloomed. Different than the usual kind that accompanied her presence. “Do you feel that?”

“I-” he cleared his throat at the sound of his own voice. “Yes.” 

“The more we touch, the better it feels,” she said, thinking aloud as her eyes were trained on their hands. “I wonder-”

She snapped her mouth shut, eyes averting his person. The tension seemed to rush back inside of her all at once as her spine straightened up at once. 

“What is it?” Concern shot through him, making him sit up. 

“Nothing, it’s-” Macy waved him off. “I think those three cups of coffee are finally getting to me.” 

“Of course, you must be exhausted.” Guilt stung him in the back of the throat. All this time he had been asleep and being worked on by Doctor Lockheart, Macy’d had to sit there, waiting for him. Harry used his other hand to begin pulling back the covers, maneuvering himself toward the edge of the bed.

“What’re you doing?” 

“I’m moving so that you can reclaim your bed,” he said, then indicated toward the chair. “I can sit there until you wake up.” 

“Uh, no you won’t. You’re not completely healed, you can’t-” 

“You need to sleep.” He began to move again, pulling his legs out from underneath the covers. “I’ll be fine.” 

“Stop, okay? Just-” she squeezed his hand and Harry did as she told him, furrowing his brow when she stood and sat down on the bed.

She refused to look at him as she scooted back until she could lay down beside him. Releasing Harry’s hand, she curled into his side, placing it over the tender spot on his middle where he could feel the shift of the bandages underneath the Hilltowne University t-shirt they had dressed him in. 

Content, warmth, relaxation, tranquility all mixed and mingled inside of him. Comfort rested over him like one of the blankets as Macy pulled them up over the both of them. She tucked herself in tighter, resting her head next to his on the pillow. After only a few minutes he could feel her go limp next to him, and glanced over to find that she was well on her way to falling asleep. 

Whatever it was made it feel easy to do so, leaving nothing to worry about this problem of theirs that seemed unfixable, so long as they were here. Together. Maybe whatever this curse was, the pain it distributed, was all worth it for this feeling alone. 

\--

The following morning he was awoken by insistant knocking and the call of their names in the shape of Mel and Maggie’s voices. He untangled himself from Macy, who had pretty much crawled on top of him in the night, stood carefully, walked to the door, and pulled it open to reveal her sisters.

“Harry!” Maggie cried brightly only for him to shush her with a finger pressed to his lips. 

“Try not to wake her.” They peered around the corner of the doorway, Harry taking a step backward to allow them a better view of their older sister. 

“How’re you feeling?” Mel asked, pointing at her own stomach to mirror the point where he had been stabbed. 

“It’s fine.”

“Really? Because you look awful.” 

“Why thank you, Melanie.” 

Macy grumbled, cranky, and reached her hand out to search for something. He startled the rest of the way awake as the realization that Macy was reaching for him, making his stomach seize. 

Macy was reaching for him because they weren’t touching. But he felt alright. Fine, like he had said, aside from the pain emanating from the side where bandages had been plastered over his skin. 

“Harry,” Macy was awake, propped up on her elbows and looking at him with surprise and excitement. From the corner of his eye he could see the Vera sisters’ head moving back and forth as they looked between them. 

“Uh, guys?” Maggie said. “What’s going on?” 

“I think-” Macy started to say only to stop and Harry could hear it, too. The ringing in his ears. And the feeling of pins and needles in his hand starting to prickle. 

“Macy,” he said, taking a step toward her. She shuffled away, standing on the other side of the bed to use it as a barrier between them. 

“No! No, it’s fine. It’s gone. It’s _ gone _,” but her laugh came out nervous and a little hysterical. “It’s all in our heads. Just- if we think we’re fine then we’re going to be fine. It has to be a product of our combined imagination. We’re just dealing with shared trauma or something. We just have to not-”

Harry’s hearing cut out as the pain spread up his arm, getting sharper and digging in deeper to him the closer it got to his heart. His vision began to blur, white spots appearing when he tried to blink it clear. He moved despite it, determined as he rounded the bed to the side Macy had retreated to. He pulled her toward him until he could grab hold of her hand properly. 

The pain was slow to go, but eventually it receded, allowing him to hear once more. 

“-at the hell is going on?” Mel asked, reminding Harry of her and Maggie’s presence altogether. 

“Remember last night when I said I couldn’t let go of Harry?” Macy said, glaring at their hands as she held them up to showcase to her sisters. “Yeah, that’s still happening.” .

“Oh. You were serious about that?” Maggie frowned. “I thought you were just, like, super worried about him and the pain was a metaphor.” 

“No, turns out it’s completely real and is here to stay until I get this figured out,” she turned to Harry. “We’ve got some experimenting to do.” 

She dragged him around the house, eyes alight in her frenzy to break the curse, claiming every ten minutes or so that there had to be a reason they could part from one another for that short while. 

And he let her, knowing that this was something she needed to do and that he could stop her just as effectively as a soft breeze. At least this way he could remind her to eat and hydrate. 

Her sisters hovered, checking in every now and then after Macy had shot down their initial offer to help. 

Finally, as the afternoon settled in around them, she said, “I have a theory.” 

He looked up from the book Maggie had brought to him, eyebrows raised. 

“From what I can tell, I think it’s a quality over quantity deal.” She gestured while she spoke, her hand pulling his around as she did so. “So where I thought it had been because of how long we had been connected, I think it’s more to do with the significance of the touch. Hand holding is simple, passable. When you were out and I had you in my arms or when we were sleeping, it let us be apart for a longer duration of time.” 

“Are you saying that the...intimacy of the touch is what controls our ability to build up an immunity to the pain?” He hated that he could feel a warm blush running up his neck and into his cheeks, heating up his ears from talking about this when he had just been getting used to the constant contact and proximity. It felt like too much, suddenly. Like the weight of the sky would be lighter to carry than Macy’s hand.

“Yes! Exactly. So maybe the better the touches the longer we can be apart from one another. Like we’re charging up a battery. We just have to figure out how to get the tank full, and maybe then we can get a few hours instead of just a few minutes.” 

“And how do you propose we do that?” 

“I...have no idea.” She sighed, slumping forward to lean a cheek against her fist. “Why does magic have to be difficult? There’s never one set solution to the problem.” 

“Quite unlike science in that regard, yes. But,” he smiled when her eyes found his, “it does allow for a lot more possibilities beyond even our own thinking. And it is far more beautiful because of that.”

“You make it all sound so poetic.” Embarrassed, he turned away only to have her tug on his hand. “Hey, I didn’t say that was a bad thing. I like it when you get all Shakespearan on us.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah,” she smiled. “You know, when you’re not being a hardass.” 

“I’m sorry? When I’m what?”

“Sometimes you can get a little high strung.” She made an apologetic face but also said, “Remember last week? When you freaked out on us about the follow up meeting with the mermaids?”

He scoffed, “Maggie had just been proposed to by one of them after being sequestered to the far side of the lake without any of us realizing where she had been taken! She is only newly 20 years old, I was not about to let that- that promiscuous Siren be anywhere near-”

“Whoa, okay,” Macy laughed, pulling him back down from his tangent. “I know it’s because you care. You’re always there for us. It being your job and all.”

“It’s far more than that,” he found himself admitting. Upon meeting her confused expression he tilted his head at her, “Surely you must know that I need you far more than you need me.” 

Macy seemed caught off guard by this and Harry could not understand why. It was no secret. He waited, patiently, as she collected her thoughts. Her mouth opened, drawing in a breath to reply, only for Maggie’s voice to take her spot. 

“Guys! I think I found something!” she called down to them. She did not bother to wait for a reply before they all heard her rapid fire footsteps climbing the stairs to the attic. With no choice, they stood from their seats. 

“_ ‘Ishara, Goddess of Love, Oathes, Treaty, and Binding Promises’ _,” Mel read aloud from the page the Book was flipped open to as he and Macy filed into the room. “That has nothing to do with what we’re dealing with here, Mags.” 

“Sure it does!” Maggie looked from one pair of eyes to the next, trying to find understanding but only getting lost confusion. She then gestured to Macy and Harry’s hands that were still being held together. “I mean, if whatever that spell was bound Harry to Macy then maybe this Ishara lady can undo it!” 

“It’s worth a shot at least,” Macy shrugged. “We need to fix this before the weekend is over, otherwise going to work will be really difficult. Although Harry has proven himself as a great lab assistant.” 

She turned to smile at him and he found himself returning it, her fingers tightening around his for a brief moment. 

The pain was still there. Despite being in the same room with a point of contact it wasn’t enough. It seemed the closer they got the shorter the range it allowed him to tolerate. He found himself drifting into her space, having to let the line of his arm press into hers to find any relief. He was thankful that she didn’t question him or step away.

In fact, seeming to understand what was going on, she leaned in, too.

Harry cleared his throat.

“Yes, I suppose it couldn’t hurt.” 

The four of them got to work setting up the spell to summon the Goddess. Mel and Maggie worked to get the ingredients they needed from around the house, having to venture back down to the kitchen for cinnamon, while Harry and Macy worked rather seamlessly to light the excessive amount of candles around the attic. 

“Well, Harry, she is the Goddess of fiery passion,” Macy replied when he complained aloud. “Although you do raise a good point. Why do we always light so many candles?” 

“In case the power goes out,” he said, without having to think on it. Harry tried to keep moving around the circle but was stopped when Macy did not follow him. He looked up to see why and found her seeming to be waiting for more of an explanation. He sighed. “Magic tends to be finicky. Especially where you three are concerned. It doesn’t always mix well with modern technological advancements, yes? So, we light candles in case a spell decides to short circuit the electricity and we will not be left in darkness should that occur.” 

“Why don’t we just use flashlights? Seems less time consuming to set up, doesn’t it?” 

“Yes, but then we wouldn’t have the mood lighting for the witchy aesthetic, now would we?.” He gestured around them to the warm colored tone that now filled the attic, the orange and yellows dancing next to the shadows cast on the walls. 

“Fair enough.” He smiled when she giggled, pulling him forward to finish lighting the rest. “Of course, you should be used to this, huh? Having lived in the Dark Ages?”

“I’m sorry?” he asked, bending down to pick up a candle for her to ignite. It took him a moment to understand what she was trying to say before he finally caught on, scoffing at her. “I am not _ that _ old. Electricity had been invented well before my lifetime.”

“And here I always pictured you reading by the light of your oil lamp.”

“I was born in 1920, Macy, not the 1700’s. There were both radios and television sets around when I was alive. And when I was brought back I watched on as humanity created all sorts of impossible things, which I deeply appreciate.”

“Huh,” Macy’’s brow furrowed at him. “I guess I never really thought about it. So, wait, you saw the first moon landing?”

“Yes.” A beat. “Not in person, of course, but I did watch the broadcast.” 

“And the Kennedy assassination?” 

“Unfortunately.”

“The Beatles?”

“Never met them, no, but I did have a Charge who was taken with them at the time. She was rather devastated when they broke up,” he recalled fondly. “But, yes. Once again, I saw the majority of it. England winning the Football World Cup, Thatcher getting reelected, the whole of the Princess Diana saga-””

“So everything in _ We Didn’t Start the Fire _ by Billy Joel?”

“Yes, but with the addition of everything going on in the Magical Community, which, as you know, is always far more dramatic.”

“Right,” she nodded. Her face lit up suddenly, “Ooo, what were you wearing in the 70’s? Flared pants and fringed vests? Oh my god, wait, were you a preppy dresser in the 80’s? Please tell me you tied sweaters around your neck.” 

He did not answer that, instead allowing her to dissolve into a fit of laughter. 

Soon everything was set and Harry stood beside Macy to watch as the Charmed Ones called to the Goddess Ishara. Their offerings burned in the middle of their formed triangle as they recited the spell given to them by the Book. 

Harry blinked and there was a fourth being in the attic.

Her eyes were on him instantly, irises so dark that they almost seemed black in color. She stood no taller than Mel and was adorned in a very well made and tailored white garment. It wrapped around her, falling over one shoulder in a long sleeve while the other was left exposed. The skirt was detailed with scalloped like shapes, overlapping one another in fabric where golden scorpions had been embroidered into each one. Along the edges of the fabric were golden fringe that hung delicately.

She wore a large golden necklace and several smaller golden bands around her wrist. Her hair, thick and curly, hung loose around her shoulders except for where a headband made of golden leaves pulled it back and away from her face, oval shaped with a strong jaw. 

“Uh, hi!” Maggie stepped forward, extending her hand to the newcomer. “I’m Maggie! These are my sisters, Mel and Macy, and that’s our Whitelighter, Harry. We’re the-” 

“Charmed Ones,” the woman finished, her voice coating the room with its rich tone, “to what do I owe the pleasure?” 

“We...don’t know exactly,” Mel frowned and then went on to explain everything that had happened. The flowers, the forest, the attack. “...and now they can’t not be touching one another. When we asked the Book of Shadows, it recommended you.” 

The Goddess looked to where Mel pointed to the Book still sitting on its pedestal, the depiction of herself displayed on the page with a great alikeness to her in real life. Aside from the strings that were in her hands, running off the page. 

“Uh huh…” Ishara narrowed her eyes at the witch before turning to Harry and Macy. She wondered over, taking her time as she circled around the attic until she stopped right in front of Harry. Her hand pressed to the center of his chest and she gave a shocked gasp, flinching away violently, as if he had burned her. 

“Oh,” she breathed, her eyes going glassy. She brought a hand up to cover her mouth, clearly upset by what it was she had found there. Slowly her hand fell away and she turned to Macy. Ishara’s expression changed as she studied the eldest sister and then back to Harry. 

She knew. Of course she knew, she was a Goddess of Love, too.

He glanced at Macy, then the other two witches, and tried to communicate silently, pleading for the Goddess not to give him away. One corner of her mouth pulled upward in a bittersweet smile.

“Oh, honey, I understand. I’m so sorry.” She reached up to run a hand over his cheek. “That being, in the forest, was one of my guards. He had said there was someone picking my flowers. They are rare in this continent, I wish you would have asked me permission to prevent something like this from happening.” 

“Guard?” Macy scoffed, “He didn’t say anything before attacking us and almost killed Harry!” 

“Sorry we didn’t know we had to ask permission to pick a flower,” Mel said, all sarcasm and no sincerity. 

“He has binded Mr. Greenwood to Macy in a forceful way. An abomination of my work in order to cause the most lethal kind of pain.” The Goddess glanced sideways at Macy, her eyes flickering over her from head to toe. Harry could feel Macy’s fingers tighten around his hand. 

“Why Macy?” Mel crossed her arms over her middle, eyeing the Goddess with disdain. “I mean, out of any of us?”

“She’s the last one he made an Oath to,” the Goddess said, stepping to bring their hands between her own. She closed her eyes, brow furrowing in concentration.

Around them the scene shifted. 

The outside light was minimal, candles illuminating the attic in their glow. The large circular window was broken, allowing for the cooled air of a dying Spring to wander inside. Furniture had been tossed around without regard. Broken pieces of glass, ceramics, and wood lay all over the ground. 

Past versions of themselves were there, too. Macy, Mel, and Maggie all knelt on the floor, with Harry stepping up behind them. 

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Mel told Macy, insistent and calm.

“It’s time to let it all go. All the hurt. We’re with you,” Maggie turned to look up at Harry. 

Macy followed, her eyes unsure as they settled on him. 

“Always,” he heard himself say, and watched as Macy ducked her head with a watery smile on her lips, clutching onto both Mel and Maggie like the anchors they were acting as. The two pulled Macy to her feet where she used the powers of the Source to return the weapons their mother had gifted them with. Past!Harry stepped forward, closing the gap to wrap his arms around the three women in a group hug. 

The scene came to an end as Macy pressed her cheek against Harry’s, pulling them back to the present. Ishara had opened her eyes, focusing on him. 

“A very bold Oath, I must say,” she said, impressed. “I’ve not heard one with as much power such as yours in many, many years.” 

“I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that,” Macy shook her head. “It was just-”

“You don’t think I know an Oath from a throw away line, child?” Ishara raised an eyebrow at Macy who frowned in return. “Please. I’ve been doing this for centuries. There are promises, contracts, agreements, and then there are Oaths. This one was of great value. Mr. Greenwood, you are something special.” 

“Thank you,” Harry gave her a shallow bow and heard her chuckle as a result. 

“A loyalty like yours is hard to come by,” she sighed. “It’s why the effects of the binding have been amplified. The power of an Oath comes from the promise of the words. All you had to do was say one word and this was the result?” 

Harry swallowed, fidgeting under the scrutiny of the four women, “Yes, well, I uh- I am a Whitelighter. That’s part of the reason I was selected to become one in the first place.” 

Ishara narrowed her eyes at him, a thumb running along his cheek bone. Finally, she smiled knowingly at him, but said nothing more on the matter and stepped back. 

“Very well, dear. Unfortunately, I do not have the power to undo what has been done,” she said. “A bind must be unwound delicately, especially one of this magnitude.”

“So, what does that mean? Will it just disappear?” 

“The physical bind will,” Ishara said, “but the Oath will remain in place. The only being who has the power to break that is Mr. Greenwood. But a bind that was as strong as this will take some time to disappear.” 

“And how long will that be?” Mel asked, sounding outraged. .

“It depends,” the Goddess said, cryptic. 

“On what?”

“On them.” 

“We don’t have time for this!” Macy blurted out. “We both have work and lives to keep up, we can’t just walk around like this. People will notice. Or worse, demons and other things looking for trouble will. They’ll exploit it if they know we’re vulnerable without the other.” 

Harry could understand that Macy was upset, the string was confusing and an annoyance that could have been avoided, but he also could not help the small stab of pain he felt in knowing that she was upset to be attached to him. He knew he shouldn’t be saddened by that fact, considering. They had only just been able to come to an understanding under the circumstances and now this small bit of invisible string was going to break it apart.

“Macy,” he spoke up before the Goddess could reply, breaking the growing tension that had been about to pop under the pressure. She turned to him and he sighed, “I know this is frustrating, but it will be resolved soon. It won’t get that far, I’m sure.” 

For a moment he thought that Macy would argue as her mouth worked to say something. In the end she only nodded, lowering her head after casting another glare at the Goddess. 

“Now,” he turned back to Ishara, “may I inquire as to what we can do in order to untie this bind?” 

“You’ve done your part, honey. It’s Macy that you’ll be waiting on.”

“Me?” Macy scoffed, tripping over a laugh that was her, _ That’s stupid and absurd and I don’t believe you _ laugh. “I’ve been trying to figure this whole thing out the entire time! How can it be waiting on me?” 

“The power of Mr. Greenwood’s Oath to you comes from his belief in his words. Or word, in this case. There was nothing that showed any sign of doubt or intention of ever breaking it. Where the bind is able to exploit it and stay tied is on your part.” Ishara narrowed her eyes at Macy, “You don’t believe his Oath to be true and so you have pulled away, leaving it vulnerable for my guard to use my curse against you.” 

“So then...how do I fix it?”

“You have to believe that Mr. Greenwood will be true to his word. Just as you’ve trusted your sister’s Oaths to you.” 

Silence fell over the room. 

“Thank you,” he said after the information she had presented them with had sunk in. While the situation was not ideal, the results would yield the same. “We apologize for bothering you on a Saturday, madam.”

“It’s no problem, darling.” The Goddess smiled at him. 

“Well!” Maggie said, clapping her hands and shooting across the attic to shake Ishara’s hand once more. “Thanks for all your help, Ms. Ishara, ma’am. We’ll try not to bother you ever again!” 

Ishara patted Maggie’s hand, turning to look at Harry again. He gave a polite nod in response. “Farewell, Charmed Ones. And Mr. Greenwood...good luck.” 

Again, in a blink of the eye the woman was gone and Maggie was holding onto air. 

Mel grabbed ahold of her younger sister, guiding her to the door, “Well, we’re just going to-... Yeah.”

“Good luck!” 

They shuffled out the door, closing it behind them. 

“Macy-”

“Don’t.”

“I didn’t-”

“You were going to ask me why I don’t believe you and I don’t want to hear it, Harry.”

“I wasn’t,” he said, keeping his voice soft. He waited until she was looking at him and he sent her a soft smile. “I know why you don’t believe me.” 

“...you do?”

“I recall us having an argument about me leaving a few weeks ago at the lake, yes?” 

“Right. Yes. You...you said you wanted to leave.”

“No, I said that it would be best if I-” He held up his free hand to cut himself off, eyes rolling up to look at the ceiling to center himself. This was not a time for a fight or to snap at one another, if he was going to be able to free her from this pain then he needed her to understand him. To believe in him. “It doesn’t matter. Either way, we resolved our misunderstanding. And I am not going to let you down, again.”

“Harry, you haven’t-”

“Yes, I have,” he said. “More times than I care to admit. But I give you my word, Macy, I will be here for as long as you want me to be. What can I do to prove it to you?” 

Macy stared at him for a long, charged, moment. His eyes flickered back and forth between hers, trying to figure out what it was that she was searching for in him so he could show her. Her jaw went slack, lips parting slightly and he thought she might have been on the verge of saying something but instead she just stepped closer. 

Cautiously she moved her hand up his arm, over his shoulder, until it lay flat on his back to push him forward. To her. 

She enveloped him in a hug, her other arm curling around his middle. It was tentative at first, and he was unsure as to whether or not she wanted him to return the touch. But then she let out a breath that shook inside her chest and it seemed to break whatever it was that was keeping her from holding back. 

Her hands gripped his shirt, taking fist fulls of the fabric between her fingers, and her arms tightened, stapling him to her and all Harry could do was hold on. 

“Will you stay?” she whispered, her face turning to press into his neck. And he knew that she did not mean the attic, or the house, but any where she went. 

“Of course,” he said. 

Somewhere inside his chest he felt something give. 

They stood like that for a long time. The exact number of minutes, he couldn’t say, but eventually she pulled away from him and he had to let her go. 

“Okay,” Macy said quietly, a small smile following it. He watched it form like a star sitting high above him in the night sky. Not his to keep, not even his alone to see, but still the thing that made him feel the brightest. 

“Do you want to stay here and...be alone?” Harry asked after a moment. “I think we can now.” 

“Actually,” she said, grabbing hold of both of his hands in hers. “I made Mel go get some of your stuff from your condo yesterday when you were out. So you can get all cleaned up, and then we need to redress your bandages. Doctor’s orders.” 

\--

The sun from the bathroom window creeped across the floor, slowly covering them as Macy worked. Her eyes were focused on placing the bandages correctly and Harry had tried, really he had, not to stare at her while she did so. 

But her touch was something he craved. Even without the curse tying them together anymore, allowing her touch to feel like it had a healing power, it didn’t matter. He would always want this. 

“All done,” she said with a smile. “How’s it feel?” 

“Good,” he nodded, quickly pulling his shirt back down to its proper positioning. “Thank you.” 

And that was it. That was the end. He knew, as soon as they stepped out of this bathroom they would be back to their regularly scheduled programming. He just didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

Harry followed Macy out into the hallway, his mouth open on a farewell, when she looped her arm around his. Hips bumping together, shoulders brushing as she guided him to the stairs.

“I think they were wanting to watch _ Pride and Prejudice _.” She paused. “The mini-series version. With Jennifer Ehle?”

“Ah, of course,” he nodded. They stepped in time with one another down the stairs to meet the other two in the kitchen to play the never ending game of, _ What do you want for dinner? _ All the while Macy stood closer to him than her normal. 

She sat next to him on the couch later that night while they divided up their take out and pressed play on the first episode of the series, thighs pressed together in a line of warmth. 

“So, did you guys end up breaking the curse?” Maggie asked, pointing her chopsticks between them. Harry stiffened, keeping his eyes down on his food. 

“Yeah,” Macy replied. “We did.” 

She didn’t scoot away, just kept eating. Neither Maggie nor Mel paid it any more mind, going back to watching the Bennet sisters. And in that moment, Harry felt safe. 

Which was rather ridiculous seeing as he was the Whitelighter, literally brought back for the sole purpose of protecting witches, and it had been his mission since he had met Macy to ensure she was safe so that she and her sisters could save humanity from the apocalypse. To put Macy first and let her go for the good of the world, even when it meant watching her tear herself apart to do so, his own heart splitting as a result. 

But he had a new mission now. Self assigned: Make Macy happy. 

And he intended to fulfill that mission, no matter the cost to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took a hot minute, i've been so shOOK by season two cause damn son. also i had a super de duper hard time with this one and know it's not very coherent and makes little to no sense. so thank you if you got through all that, you're a real one !!


	4. The Truth Hurts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not beta-ed, im sorry for any/all the mistakes! and thank you for reading, you're all wonderful !!

It had not taken long for another crisis to fall into the path of the Charmed Ones. 

News that the local High School Boys’ Soccer Team had hijacked their own bus and driven it right into the lake had spread all over town. The sisters and Harry had done everything they could to help the mermaids that had been affected by the recklessness of the teenagers. Cleaning up what they could that had been missed, restoring what the bus had crushed underneath. Thankfully no one, including those who dwelled within the lake, had been killed in the accident. 

Had that been it, they would have done their part for their fellow magical community members and been done for the day, allowing the for the humans to take care of their side of things without intervening. But as this was Hilltowne, or rather _ Hell _towne, there was more to the story. The mermaids had told them that something was wrong with the boys. Where normally humans would display some sort of concern of life or regret or emotion of some sort, the boys had all been calm when exiting the vehicle when it had started to sink. They had also been the ones to call 911 to report themselves to the police officers who had arrived at the scene. 

Obviously, if it was enough for a mermaid to have concerns for humans, there must have been something wrong. The girls agreed that they would look into it and bid farewell to their friends. 

Harry had driven himself and the Charmed Ones down to the hospital in order to investigate the students that had been emitted due to minor injuries during the crash. Upon entering they gave the same story as all the other parents in the waiting room, that one of their loved ones had been involved and they wanted to know if he was alright. Thankfully, due to the commotion that had been stirred from the amount of people inside the hospital, they were able to pass by into one of the rooms. 

“Hello!” the boy lying on the bed greeted them as Harry slid the door shut. “I don’t know you guys.” 

“We’re just...here from the local paper,” Maggie supplied, making Macy and Mel nod alongside her. The boy smiled, his whole demeanor relaxed if a bit dazed. Almost as if he were high on some sort of drug. 

That could have been a possibility, Harry supposed. The whole team had collectively been under the influence on their way back home from the game and decided that leaving their coaches and bus driver at the pit stop would be something to laugh about. He stepped over to the foot of the bed to retrieve the young man’s medical chart.

“You guys don’t have to lie to me,” Matthew Henson, as Harry read at the top of the file. “It’s all good! Ask away, I’ll tell you anything you want to know, Maggs.” 

Harry looked up, eyes wide, to exchange shocked looks with the sisters. Not only did he know Maggie’s name without being introduced but he knew the nickname of her nickname. Alarm bells went off in his head and he took another step forward, just in case Henson decided to turn on his Charges. 

“Uh, how do you know my name?”

“I dunno,” Henson frowned, looking down at his hands that sat limply on his lap. Then he shrugged and grinned back up at them. “I just kinda know, ya’ know? I speak my truth and the truth’s found me. Just how its been goin’ I guess. You should try it, you know. Maybe then you and school can become buds again.”

“Okay, enough with the hippy-dippy shtick,” Mel cut in, grabbing Henson’s attention. He still wore the same lackadaisical smile on his face as she glared at him. “Why did you and your idiot friends drive yourselves into the lake? You’re all in huge trouble. You could have died.”

“Yeah, we could have. But we all thought it would be fun, and isn’t that what’s life all about? Having fun? Not missing out on opportunities that are right in front of you?” 

“Are you trying to tell us that you drove your bus into the lake because it was right in front of you?”

“Sort of,” Henson chuckled. “Chester just got his license and we were all super excited for him because, whoa, like, that’s one step into freedom, you know? Like as soon as you can drive and get your own ride you can like, go wherever essentially. So when the bus stopped we all wanted him to drive because that’s what he wanted to do. Just drive. So he did. And we ended up in the lake because Trevor was watching The Office on his phone, you know the one where Michael drives him and Dwight into the lake? And we thought it’d be hilarious to actually recreate that scene. Everyone was so on board.”

“Okay but you could have _ died _,” Mel emphasized. “Or killed someone else. Don’t you even care?”

“Sure!” he smiled. “But no one did.” 

“This is like talking to a brick wall,” Maggie sighed.

“No, this is worse,” Mel slapped her hands against her thighs in frustration. “This brick wall talks back and is a complete dumbass.”

“There’s no signs of narcotics in his system, according to this,” Harry held up the chart. “This is all of his own personality traits, supposedly.” 

“And Harry! Dude! I’m so psyched for you!” Henson shot him a pair of finger guns and a wink making him stare in confusion at the young man. 

“Let’s get out of here,” Mel rolled her eyes. “Maybe one of the others will have more brain cells than this one.” 

The girls filed out of the room as Harry replaced the chart from where he had found it, turning to follow after them. 

“Go get her, my dude! Love is the rawest truth out there!” Henson called out as he shut the door. Harry watched, mostly in complete fascination with the youth, as the boy held up his hands in the shape of a heart. He then placed it against his chest for a moment, before breaking it apart to kiss the tips of his fingers and wave at Harry, who was being called to by Mel down the hall to hurry up.

As it turned out, the other boys were not more helpful than Mr. Henson. They all seemed to be under the same influence. All were relaxed, calm, not so much apathetic toward the situation as they took complete responsibility for their actions. They all believed themselves to be doing the right thing, which was doing what they wanted to do. There were no signs of any drugs, besides one’s prescribed dosage of Adderall. 

Not only that, but they all had some sort of ability for insight on details they should have not previously had known. Knowing Maggie’s name, knowing Mel’s car make, knowing that one of the nurses in the room with them had just recently lost her pet to cancer, and also knowing that one of the officers that walked in had been approved to adopt his step daughter after the loss of her mother. All things that they should not know, but did anyways. 

“You can check out next door,” the last of the players told them after they had given up on the conversation of trying to find any rationality within the young man. 

“Oh, yeah?” Mel raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?” 

“Heard she murked her mom,” the boy said, his tone the same as it had been since they entered the room despite the subject matter. “I knew her, too. I mean I didn’t _ know _ her, but she was in my art class freshman year. Always quiet, never really did anything but work. Now she’s a murderer. Crazy how life works. I just hope she found whatever it was she was looking for.” 

A police officer stood outside the door next to the one they exited, and they all knew there was no chance they could speak to the girl that was presumably inside. They settled on the nurse that exited from the room instead, following her back to the nurses’ station, despite being waved away. 

Mel, already annoyed by the lack of progress and information they had gotten from the soccer team, snapped, “Hey! If a murderer is in here with my- er, cousin, then I have the right to know!” 

“Keep it down, will you?” the nurse hissed. Macy gave the woman a look and the woman sighed, releasing the tension inside of her. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I have seen her in here once before. She was quiet, didn’t really say much, came in on her own for a fractured wrist. I could tell she was scared. Unlike right now. Now she’s as cool as a cucumber. Can you believe that? They’re saying she killed her own mother and she’s acting like that.” 

“What happened to her?” 

“She wouldn’t say, and I can’t speculate.” 

Mel held up her hand and everything around them stilled. “Screw this.”

“Mel!” Maggie cried, watching as her sister went around to the other side of the station to rifle through the files the nurse had stacked on the table in front of her. Finally, she pulled one free and flipped it open. 

“Got her. Lauren Rawlings.” Mel took out her phone to take a picture of the page, then looked up at her sisters and Harry, who were staring at her in disapproval. “What? I’m just getting her address so we can go check out her place. If she’s been infected by this thing, too, then we’re going to need to figure out how the loner chick and the soccer jocks are connected.” 

Relenting, they all waited for Mel to replace everything as it had been, including herself, and then restarted time again. Even the air shifted around them as the hospital came back to life, as if it had been in the middle of releasing its breath when Mel had used her powers. 

“Thank you for your time,” Harry told the nurse when the girls moved off toward the elevator. “I hope your days only gets better from here.” 

The nurse nodded to him, and he quickly made his way to where Macy was holding the doors open for him.

\--

The Rawlings’ home was blocked off, the road being populated by various teams that were investigating the crime scene and news stations looking to get their story. Mel, once again, used her powers to put all the moving parts on hold while the Charmed Ones did an investigation of their own. Nabbing some of the CSI’s shoe covers and gloves, they entered the house. 

There was something off about the home, he noted. Yes, besides all the people that were stock still in their places. 

The bedroom that was presumably Lauren’s was strangely clean. 

“Prison cell, more like,” Mel retorted. Harry did not think she was far off. There was next to nothing inside. Only a bed and a wardrobe sat on opposite walls. There was nothing else, not even a lamp. No posters. No rug. There was nothing personable about it, which may have been to her tastes, but the rest of the house looked as though someone lived in it. Like there was some sort of life. This was devoid of anything. 

“So she didn’t have a personality,” Maggie said.

“Or she was afraid to show it,” Macy moved the pillow that sat on the top of the bed to reveal a book. Its spine was worn, the bottom edges of the pages flipping upwards. Harry knew the signs of a well loved book that had been used over and over and over again. 

They moved on, splitting up around the house. He found himself accompanying Macy into the master bedroom where the girls mother most likely had slept. The place was a mess in comparison to the rest of the house. Beer cans and liquor bottles were on every surface, they laid about the floor and on the bed. Clothes were thrown everywhere without a care in the world for wrinkles, if they were clean, dirty, or somewhere in between.

A belt caught his eye, the sunlight glinting off the buckle. He stepped closer, allowing his eyes to spot the reddish brown stains that coated the leather strap. Macy stepped up next to him, placing a hand over her mouth as she gasped at the sight of it. 

“You don’t think-”

“Whatever is influencing Ms. Rawlings gave her the capability to retaliate,” Harry said, looking up from the floor to Macy. “But like you said, whatever this is, it has also taken away their sense of right and wrong.” 

They all reconvened when they found nothing that gave them any clue as to what could have infected the young woman. Mel restarted time after they had left, making their way back to where they had parked several streets over. The conversation in the car ride, up to the front porch, and into the entryway of the house had them all in agreement: something magic related must have been at play here. 

“So, what? This thing not only makes people into idiots but psychics or something, too?” Mel scoffed. “That’s ridiculous.” 

“But not impossible,” Maggie shrugged. “I dunno, we’ve dealt with weirder, haven’t we?” 

“It’s like whatever is doing this has taken all the social norms that society has ingrained in these people out.” Macy made a face, a notch between her brows, as she tried to process the limited information they’d gathered. “They all seem like they realized that their cookie cutter life just isn’t enough for them anymore. They all threw caution to the wind and became their own Lifetime movie. Maybe whatever is doing this to them is feeding off of that? The break from the restraints of life? The want to be more than just...normal?”

“Yeah, but what if-?”

The four of them all looked up when they heard screaming coming from outside. Out the door and down the stairs, they gathered on the sidewalk by the street to see what was going on. A few houses down a man was standing with his hands raised by his side, backing away across the front lawn as a woman pointed a handgun at him. A small group of people were standing around them, trying to talk the woman down as others were on the phone, most likely with the police. They ran to join the forming crowd. 

“What do we do?” Maggie whisper-yelled, pushing herself up on her tip-toes to see over people’s shoulders. “It’s not like we can use our powers with all these people watching! They’ll notice if one second the lady’s got a gun and the next she doesn’t!” 

“The old fashioned way,” Harry said, eyes jumping back and forth between the woman and the man. There was no time for a discussion, if they stood there like the rest of the innocents another murder was going to be commited. This was the only option seeing as he would never have allowed any of the Charmed Ones to do what he was about to attempt. “Keep these people back, I’ll handle this.”

“No!” Macy gripped onto his arm as soon as he tried to step forward. “She has a gun, Harry. She could kill you.” 

“I’ll be fine,” he told her, smiling something he hoped was reassuring as he stepped out of her reach, ignoring the way she kept calling his name. Harry approached the woman with caution, holding up his hands to show that he was free of any weapons and meant her no harm. “Excuse me, madam?”

The woman turned, the gun moving with her. A shot rang out, the bullet whizzing passed him. He turned around, heart in his throat, to watch as the crowd scattered. Maggie, Mel, and Macy all stood together, and nodded to him to show that they were fine. They turned their attention to everyone else only to conclude that no one had gotten hurt. He breathed and looked back to the woman who seemed just as surprised by the gun in her hands.

“Oopsie daisies!” the woman said.

“_ Oopsie daisies _?” he heard Mel parrot. “Are you kidding me? You could have killed someone!” 

“Sorry. Who are you?” the woman asked, smiling. 

“Harry Greenwood,” he replied before Mel could. He took another step forward. “And I would be greatly appreciative if you would put the gun down.”

“No can do, Harry. Not yet!”

“Madam-”

“You can call me Jacquelyn! Madam makes me sound all old, especially with your accent, which is gorgeous, by the way. And I’m not old! My life-” she squinted, then turned, pointing her gun once again at the man across from her. “My life! You ruined my life, you cheating prick! I can’t believe I stayed married to you just because I cared what other people would think!”

“Jackie! Honey, please!” the man cried. “I’m sorry!” 

“Well, I don’t forgive you!” she replied, cocking the gun and taking aim. Harry sprang forward in response, not so much as thinking anything passed that he needed to get to the gun before the trigger could be pulled once more. He wrapped his arms around Jacquelyn's middle, tackling her to the ground. The gun was knocked loose from her hold. It scraped across the concrete until the edge of the grass made it come to a halt. Harry looked up when she sighed in disappointment. 

“What a pisser,” she said, eyes on the gun. “Shooting him in the dick would have been better than therapy.”

The police arrived shortly after, pulling her to her feet to apply handcuffs. The Charmed Ones were being escorted off the front lawn, all trying to stay as they argued and pointed at Harry. 

“No hard feelings,” she told him when he stood. “Can’t be mad at someone who’s got something good going on in their lives even though I don’t anymore! Jealousy is a shade that never looked good on anyone.” 

“I’m sorry?” He watched as she tried to wiggle around the officer to maintain eye contact, her grin wide and carefree for someone who was being read their Miranda Rights. 

“You’re in love! I haven’t been in love since I was a teenager. You can’t waste it, Harry! Embrace it! Embrace her! Be true to yourself and everything will be so much better. You’ll see!”

Harry watched, jaw slack, as the officer guided her away to tuck into the back of a patrol car. She winked at him from behind the window and then used her hands to motion to something to her left. His eyes wandered in that direction to find Macy jogging over to him, crossing the lawn until her arms were wrapped around him in a bruising hug.

Ever since they had broken the binding oath curse Macy was no longer hesitant to touch him. She had laid her forehead against his shoulder and shut her eyes to the rest of the world while she held onto him after he had assured her he wouldn’t leave. Allowing the bind to solidify and cast out whatever had been plaguing it, its wounds healed by the act. 

He had never felt more trusted in that moment, to have her blinded and vulnerable and pressing into him without the slightest hint of hesitation to do so. 

Where, not so long ago, she would have frozen and ran away at even the barest hints of contact, legs touching under the kitchen table or hands brushing as he passed her one thing or another, now she didn’t shy away at all. In fact, she initiated most of the touches herself. 

He was not complaining. How could he when he had been so certain that he made her uncomfortable by merely being in his presence? 

It was just that they were getting to him. Every brush of her skin against his, every time she would reach across the distance between them, that he thought she had placed there for a reason, would weigh heavier and heavier. Since having touched her, his hands were not the same ones. 

Sometimes the touches seemed to go beyond what he thought to be those of friendship. When her hand would slide that much further up his shoulder to his neck, her thumb angled up to rest on his jaw when inspecting the damage that had been done by the foe they had been up against that week. It had been intimate, her touch tender, and had he been a stronger man he would have been able to not let it bother him.

But he was not. 

He did not have it in him to resist leaning into her palm. To not have his skin heat up when she would be focused on getting a dab of icing off his mouth from one of her cupcakes. That one had been terribly embarrassing because the other sisters had been present, all having had to pile into the kitchen to taste Macy’s new recipe at her insistence, and Maggie had to make a noise from across the island to break him out of his trance as his world had condensed down to brown eyes and pink lips. 

They were wearing him down, and he couldn’t do a thing about it. Macy had finally seemed to accept whatever comprehension she had about Harry, and was more comfortable with him than ever before. He didn’t want to ruin that just when she was beginning to trust him again. Harry knew he could control himself and would never attempt to do anything that would make Macy feel as though he were over stepping some sort of boundary, but he was beginning to come to terms with the fact that her touches, while wonderful, were going to cause him more pain in the end. 

They were innocent touches with nothing but that of friendship underneath, only when he felt them there was always so much more and it made him feel like he was breaking some sort of unspoken rule. 

Every time she would take his hand in hers. Hugging him in greeting and in parting. Fixing his collar. Placing her hand on his shoulder when she passed by him sitting at the table. Or when she would walk beside him close enough for their shoulders to brush, it felt like coming home. Like he had never felt more right in his own skin then when she would acknowledge him in there. Familiar. Safe. Warm. Where he was always supposed to be despite never having meant to live this long. They had made him hyper aware that he was not Macy’s but at the same time that he would never be anyone else’s. 

It was getting harder and harder not to reach back. It felt as though every day he was being burned by her and yet that same touch felt like a salve, healing him all over again. It was too late to turn back, far too late. There was nothing in the world that could pry open the cage created by his ribs and remove her from his heart. Even unseen people would know that it shivered because of her. He didn’t know what to do, how to combat it, how to build up a resistance when all he wanted to do was feel. To touch in return. 

How long could he expect the yearning to hold its breath before it was forced to come up for air?

He let out an _ oof! _ upon impact, his weight being rocked back until he could stabilize them with a few staggering steps and a hand on her back.

“I’m alright, I’m alright,” he assured her when she pulled away. Her hands still gripping the fabric of his blazer at his shoulders. She looked him over herself, as if his words were not viable enough, before her eyes softened and she relaxed. 

“Good.” She cleared her throat and released him from her hold. He forced himself not to follow as she took a step back, his hands falling limply to his sides. “Because now we all get to talk to the police since you took it upon yourself to play hero.” 

Harry looked to where the Vera sisters were already being interrogated by an officer with their notebook out, pen being clicked. He winced.

\--

After many, _ many, _ questions and answers later they were free to return back to their homes with the promise that the police would be back to get their written statements. And should anything else be needed from them they would be summoned down to the station. 

Everyone flopped down into their spots in the living room, Mel and Maggie on the couch while Harry and Macy took to the chairs across the way.

“Okay, we need-”

Maggie groaned, “Mel! Can’t we have a break from all this? I’m so exhausted, I think my head is going to explode.” 

“No way! This thing is already turning people into murderers and vandals! We can take a break once we’ve figured out who or what is doing this otherwise more people are just going to keep getting hurt,” Mel countered making Maggie sink deeper into the cushions of the couch. “All we have so far is a group of guys crashing a bus, a girl who killed her mom, and a woman who wanted to shoot her husband. What’s the connection?”

“Not the _ who _ , obviously. That’s three very different demographics,” Macy said, rubbing at her temples. “And not the _ what _ or _ how _ or _ why _ either, they all had different motives with different actions and ways they carried them out. The _ when _ is sort of relevant, we know that it could have happened either today or yesterday when whatever is in their system set in. So that just leaves-”

“The_ where _,” he finished for her. “Where could all of these people possibly have gone within the past 48 hours?” 

“Grocery store?” Maggie offered.

“We’d see more cases, though,” Mel shook her head. “Everyone goes to the grocery store.” 

“Wait, what does the husband shooter do?” Macy asked, rolling her wrist, her hand going round and round at a rapid pace. “Where does she work, I mean?”

“She’s a teacher at the High School. I had her for History my Junior year. And, oh, she also coaches the women’s Volleyball team.” She frowned. “That sucks, they’re probably going to need a new one if she’s going to jail for attempted murder.” 

“The school!” Mel clapped her hands together. “That has to be it. Both the team and Lauren are students.”

“Oh, God, the whole Hilltowne population of teenagers going rouge?” Maggie looked at the window, a touch of disgruntled fear in her eyes. She pushed herself to her feet, “Yeah, we better get over there. Like yesterday.”

\--

They arrived at the school as the sun began to set on the day. Due to the imminent arrival of Autumn sunlight had begun to become a precious commodity, lost earlier and earlier with each passing day. 

“How do we even know what we’re looking for?” Maggie asked once Harry had managed to orb them inside after Mel had frozen time to avoid the risk of being caught on the security cameras. 

“I don’t know, Maggie. Just- keep your eyes peeled for anything weird.” Mel walked off down the hallway. Her attitude making Maggie huff, and follow after her with clenched fists at her side as her heels clicked loudly against the tiled flooring. They left Harry to share a look with Macy who smiled wearily at him before stepping closer to loop her arm around his. 

Harry glanced sideways at Macy, allowing himself to study her profile for a few seconds before returning to the task at hand, being on the lookout for anything of the more sinister nature. They began down the hallway after her sisters, lockers on either side of them. Posters for clubs, for Halloween themed activities, for certain classes, were hung up on the walls. For all intents and purposes, the school felt like just that. A school, only quiet as those who made it more than just a building were not there to give it life.

That was, of course, until the sound of glass breaking echoed down the hall towards them. 

Macy released him from her hold to allow them free range as they darted down the hallway to turn the corner, finding Maggie limp on the ground. 

Fear held him by the throat as he rushed forward to crouch beside her, his magic already lighting the palm of his hand as he cupped the back of her head where blood was dying his skin red. Vaguely he noted that Macy kept going, calling out for Mel. 

“Maggie?” he called as her eyes fluttered open.

“Mel.” Maggie sat up, trying to push herself to up but Harry held her firmly in her arms, not allowing her to move from out of his reach as he continued to mend the wound on the back of her skull. “Mel! Harry, we- we need to-!” 

“She’s not here.” Macy stopped next to them, her breaths coming in rapidly. “What the hell happened?”

Harry helped Maggie get to her feet, allowing her to lean on him while she re-orientated herself. “I don’t know. Whatever it was must have hit me from behind and taken her!” 

“Damn it,” Macy breathed, her eyes widening with fear and worry. “What do we do? We don’t even know what we’re dealing with, how are we supposed to know where it took her?” 

“Let’s not panic,” he told her, keeping his voice firm. Though he felt the same wave of anxiety curling tightly in his stomach at the thought of Melanie being in the hands of someone who would potentially bring her harm. “There must be something here that can lead us to her kidnapper. Or-”

_ “Harry!” _Mel’s voice rang in his ears. He held his hand out to Macy while tightening his hold on Maggie.

“She’s calling for me,” he explained and Macy gripped onto him with both hands. 

When they reappeared they were standing in a large room, dimly lit by the after-hour fluorescent of the building. They hadn’t gone far from what he could tell, the hallway in fashion with the one they had previously been in, only there were no lockers, only trophy cases and banners decorated from the walls. The only difference he could really make out was the Caution signs littered all over the place. 

“Mel!” Maggie cried, pulling away from Harry to take off down the dingy corridor. He was about to call out to her in protest, but upon seeing Mel thrown over the shoulder of a dark figure running down the hallway, and ducking into a doorway that was covered with plastic. He and Macy followed her lead. 

Construction on the gymnasium, apparently, was taking place at the school. Inside, passed the plastic coverings of the doorway, Harry found them to be in a large room. The ceiling rose high above their heads with windows lining the top of the surrounding walls.The floor was unfinished, mostly patches of concrete and dirt, with tools and work stations scattered around the space. 

“There!” Macy yelled, pointing to the figure they’d been chasing as the top of their head disappeared below the ground. The four all raced over to peer down into a massive cavern in the floor with a single ladder leading downwards. Maggie pulled her phone from her pocket, shining the light of it down. They all startled when it caught a flash of the figure before they disappeared from sight. 

“Come on,” Maggie said, though it sounded as if it was more meant for herself than it was either Harry or Macy. She stepped onto the ladder, quickly descending down into the dark. He and Macy followed her down into a large room that they had no time to inspect, having to run off down the tunnel that connected to it after the thing that had led them down here. Harry had brought up the end, trailing behind Macy who was following Maggie. 

“Mel?” she called, Macy and Harry having caught up to her but the middle sister nowhere in sight, disappeared into the dark tunnel. “Mel! Where are you!” 

“In here! Help me!” Mel called. They followed the sound of her voice farther down and through a small door that led to another room. It was smaller than the one the first one below the new gymnasium's floor and circular in shape. They all panted as they entered, jogging over to where Mel was lying down. Harry rolled her over onto her back to find her eyes closed. Maggie gasped.

“But she just-?” 

“Well, well, well, if isn’t the cavalry!” Mel’s voice sounded out behind them, the pitch shifting into something more distorted. Slowly, Harry turned to find a figure standing there grinning at them. They were tall, limbs covered in a tattered tunic and matching pants. Dirt covered them from head to toe, sticking to their skin and hair as if they’d been rolling around in it. Dark hair paired with light skin only made them look ill, as if they’d been deprived of sunlight and any amount of nutrition for years. “She really put you all in a pickle didn’t she? Or should I say, pickle jar.” 

They began walking forward and Harry stood, taking a few steps forward to place himself between it and his Charges. 

“Stay away from her,” Macy growled, stepping forward. A rock flew across the room but the Demon raised a hand, turning it to sand before it could touch them. They smiled, tilting its head at Macy. 

“Oh, but why not, Mace? Without her you’d have no one to argue with anymore. Your little secret would die with her and then there’d be no one but you who knew the truth.”

“If you hurt her-”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about the time witch.”

“Why are you doing this?” Maggie demanded, ever the one to appeal to the enemies emotions, tough Harry could not imagine this Demon could feel something that even remotely resembled anything of the sort.

“Why? _ Why? _ I have been down here starving for hundreds of years, locked away from anything that could even utter a work,” it hissed, glaring at the three of them. “Until, one day, I could hear them again. All those people up there avoiding the truth. Spreading lies. I’ve only given them the antidote to life! Now they’re all living in the light. You should be thanking me!”

They chuckled, a darkened version of Maggie’s usually pleasant giggles. “And now I finally have someone powerful enough to take my place so I can leave this place. Or should I say someones. So, thank you all. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Harry noticed a step too late that it was backing away. The door was right behind them, no contest as to who would be able to reach it first. They caught his eyes and grinned. “You four have a lot to work out. I think I’ll leave you to it.”

“No!” It moved out of the door, their hand raising in a curt wave before the door shut on its own accord. Clicking echoed in the room, the door locking itself behind them. Macy walked forward, her eyes trained on the door’s handle. She stood there for a moment before sighing in frustration, her hand balling into a fist.

“My powers won’t work on it!” 

Harry focused on his powers and snapped his fingers only to find nothing happen. “And I can’t orb. Whatever this room is, it’s somehow blocking our abilities.” 

“What the hell even was that thing?” Maggie asked. He shrugged, opening his mouth to reply-

“Hunter 2.0?” 

They all turned to find Mel sitting up, a hand on her forehead as she winced. 

“Mel!” Maggie sighed, grinning as she raced over to her sister to fling her arms around her shoulders. Mel groaned but returned the hug only to laugh when Macy walked over to pull them both to their feet, resting a hand on her head. 

“What happened?” 

“You got kidnapped,” Maggie sniffed, pulling away from the hug. “Then we came to get you. Didn’t really do a good job. Now we’re trapped and have no idea why or how to get out of here.”

“Great,” Mel deadpanned. “I should have stayed asleep.” 

“Look,” Macy said, pointing her torch at one of the walls. Maggie, Mel, and Harry did as they were told, finding a drawing on the wall. It was an outline of a person with no defining features drawn besides that of two blue eyes. Maggie reached up to touch it and the drawn eyes glowed causing them to retreat once more. The room shook, dust kicking up into the air, loosened pieces of the walls clattering down to the ground. 

A square piece of the wall where the figure was drawn moved out, stone sliding against stone. Harry held up a hand to keep his Charges from venturing forward in case anything inside was dangerous. He stepped with caution over to the compartment, reaching in to take out a folded slip of parchment. 

It was brittle with age, edges worn and yellowed. He unfolded it, movements careful and slow to keep it from tearing. Neatly written symbols filled the page, the ink had also faded over the time it had been within the room. 

“What language is that?” Maggie asked, the sisters having appeared on either side of him. 

“Illevaihcam.” Macy caught his gaze when he looked up at her, knowing he was doing a poor job of hiding the worry that had gripped him tight. She smiled at him, “It’s okay, Harry. I’m not going to go Demon out on you guys if I’m just reading something.”

“What?” Mel looked between the both of them, eyebrows knit together.

“Illevaihcam, otherwise known as the Devil’s Tongue. Which is why I can read it and you two can’t,” Macy told her sisters, shining her torch on the parchment to get a better look. She did not take it from Harry’s hold, only taking a step further into him to read over the message. After a minute, she cleared her throat, “Okay, so, according to this, a group of Demons got together to trap this Shapeshifter Demon down here. This is its prison cell, I guess, where they locked it away with the intention of never letting it out again.” 

“Is that a thing? Demons working together?” Maggie questioned, taken aback. 

“Though rare, it is a possibility,” Harry shrugged. “Especially if this one posed a large threat to their way of life.”

“Apparently its abilities can infect Demons, too,” Macy added and he swallowed thickly at the feeling over her pressing closer into his side, squinting at the scroll. At that he tried to pass it to her, wanting her to take the bloody thing so he could step away to breathe again. Suddenly the room was relatively large in size it felt as if he were suffocating. 

“Abilities?” Mel’s voice pulled him out of his trance. He pressed his lips together, taking air into his lungs until they reached full capacity. They were trapped with only one another to rely on, he could not break here. 

“Whatever influence it has on the humans,” Harry concluded. “Why the football team stole the bus and why Ms. Rawlings killed her mother.” 

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Maggie shook her head. “Demons already don’t care about the rules. They wreck and kill all the time, why would they be scared of turning into what they already are?” 

“I don’t know,” he sighed, turning back to Macy. “Does it say anything about the door?” 

“No, it just says that they locked it so that it could never open it on its own volition and that anyone who knew it was down there would never be able to use the key to get them out.” She huffed in frustration. “But there _ has _ to be a way out. There’s no way it just up and left after all these years.”

“They said it was because they heard something,” Maggie said. “The truth.”

“And avoiding it.” Mel nodded, “All those soccer players, they kept saying they wanted to live their truth.”

“Right. And Mrs. Matthews did, too! She didn’t want to live a lie anymore. So what if that was the infection the Demons were talking about? What if this thing makes people tell the truth?” Maggie’s eyes jumped from one sister to another until they landed on him, her eyebrows raising, "I mean, a High School would be the perfect place to hit people with this thing.”

“That would explain why Demons wouldn’t want them around,” Harry said. “And with the more people going to great extents to tell the truth, the more power it must have drawn.” 

“But then why would it infect people to make them tell the truth if lies are what set it free?” Mel frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“They built this prison underground so that it wouldn’t be able to reach humans or magical beings alike. I don’t think it was the lies that set it free, but getting those lies to turn into truths. If this thing infects people like a virus then all they needed was one person.” He looked to the door, “Whatever unfortunate construction worker that found this room must have picked up the pathogen and carried back up to the surface.”

“Harry, you did not just say that the truth would set us free,” Maggie groaned, letting her head fall back in her annoyance. “That’s been on every terrible motivational cat poster since the dawn of time!” 

“Cliches aside, we need to speak the truth if we’re going to leave this cell and vanquish the Demon,” he insisted, looking to the door now. 

“Fine! Uhm, uh...oh! Harry has blue eyes!” Maggie said, pointing at him. She looked over at the door with an expectant smile, only for it to fall when nothing seemed to happen. 

“That’s true,” Mel made a face, “but not a _ truth _. It has to have some kind of weight to it. That’s why it could never release itself, right? It needed to have someone else with it to share that baggage with.” 

“Baggage,” Maggie repeated. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she seemed to prepare herself. “Okay, I...I’m really struggling with school, you guys. Which totally sucks because I like my classes. Like, _ really _ like my classes and I want to be a psychologist! I want to help people. I’m an empath and I...I just feel like it could be my way of giving back to people. I know we already do this whole saving the world from doom, thing, but I don’t know. I think it would be nice to help people on a smaller scale, too. But I don’t think I’m good enough to be what I want to be.”

Harry’s chest ached for Maggie, and he could hear the defeat in the tone of her voice. He had known the youngest sister had been struggling with her coursework ever since their powers had been unbound, the forces of Evil taking a toll on their life styles in every way imaginable. But she had been doing much better now that they had stopped the apocalypse. He had read over all of her papers, had helped her prepare for quizzes and exams. She often came to him to reflect on what she had learned in her classes, brimming with excitement when she had seemed to have an epiphany as to how her lessons could relate to her powers. 

Something clicked, the sound ringing in his ears as they turned to stare at the door. 

It was unlocking. 

“Good! Yes! We need more,” Macy breathed, smiling in relief. 

“I like being in charge, but I feel like I’m not doing a very good job of it,” Mel sighed. They all looked at her in confusion, Harry especially puzzled by this. “Ever since everyone agreed that we should take over I’ve been struggling. The Elders sucked! Really bad. And I don’t want to be them. I want to be someone the Magical World can feel like they can trust and know they can come to when they’re in trouble without being scared we’re going to bite their heads off or something. I know we stopped the apocalypse and everything but...I don’t know, sometimes I question whether I’m the right person for this job.” 

More clicking sounded out into the room. Dirt shook off the door as it moved, falling back to the ground.

Harry frowned deeply at Mel who shrugged in response. It was hard to comprehend that someone so dedicated to their job, to the people it affected, could hold that much doubt inside of her. Mel was his friend, so much so that he felt that their relationship felt more akin to that of brother and sister, something he had never had the pleasure of experiencing before and found that he loved very much. Mel had no problem with arguing against him, having found the exact buttons to press in order to frustrate him beyond belief a long time ago. She didn’t put things under the tint of rose or sugar coat them to save his feelings. She was blunt, straightforward, unrelenting. 

But she was loyal to a fault, having gone up against the Elder’s themselves for his sake. She was soft when she needed to be and a pillar to lean on. Some days she made him want to crawl back under the covers and stay there for the rest of eternity, but he also knew that the next day everything would be fine after an apology. He loved her very dearly, and he wished that she could see herself through the eyes of all those who admired her so. She and her sisters had already done wonders for the Magical Community. There was no doubt that this was what she had been meant for. 

“Ugh, I...okay!” Macy closed her eyes and shook her head. He knew this to be what she did when she was mentally preparing herself. There was no blaming her, the task was not an easy one to complete. 

“I’m want to move on,” Macy said quickly after making him look up to find her eyes on him. She stared at him for a moment longer before taking a breath and passing her gaze to her sister. “Galvin’s dead and it’s my fault. Yes, it was his choice, and yes he saved all those people but if-if it hadn’t been for me he never would have had to make that choice. And I...I told myself I wasn’t going to be with anyone else, that I wasn’t going to forget about him. I love him, and I miss him so badly, but I just...I feel like I want to move on. I just feel like I’m betraying him.”

The door thumped, the locks moving quicker now to undo themselves as the spell that had been placed upon them was being shattered apart. 

The sisters then turned their eyes to Harry, who suddenly felt as though a spotlight had been directed onto his person. The pressure had him stuttering over himself, trying to think of a truth. A truth, a truth, a truth-

“Harry!”

“I’m frightened!” he blurted, feeling as though the words had been torn from him. Harry shut his eyes tightly to keep from seeing their reactions. “Whatever the Vortex Viribus did, it restored my immortality, meaning I am back to no longer aging as I should.”

“Why would you be scared of that?” Maggie asked him, voice soft. Slowly, he opened his eyes to look up at her. She smiled, “You’re never going to get old! Best skin care routine ever.”

“Exactly,” he sighed. His stomach churned, insisting that he stop talking, that he pick something else to say. But he knew that he could not. Innocents were out there at the mercy of a Demon, there had no time for his cowardice to try and shield him from their judgement. “But you three will, and I’m unsure that I will be able to continue on knowing that I will have to eventually watch as you three age. I’ve become rather reliant on you this past year, and I think it would be a fate worse than death itself to live without you.”

Another click, another groan of old metal moving within the locking mechanism. 

He let out a breath, actually feeling somewhat relieved within the throws of embarrassment and mortification at just having admitted such a thing. 

While the Charmed Ones watched as the rest of the locks undid, the heavy door swinging open to reveal the darkened tunnel that they had come through, Harry kept his eyes on the eldest sister, watching as her emotions flickered over her face only to disappear once more under her mask of bravery. 

They all made a break for the door, only for Macy’s hand on his chest to halt him before they could take off down the tunnel in search of the middle sister. Both he and Maggie stopped to look back at her, wondering why she was pausing when they were free to go, “Wait! If we want to put this thing back in its cage then we need to keep this door opened. Someone needs to stay here and keep telling the truth.”

“I will,” he said, stepping back across the threshold.

“Baggage, remember?” Mel gestured to the room. “It needs to be a shared weight. _ Two _ of us are going to have to stay behind.” 

Macy joined Harry back inside the room and he wanted to protest but knew better than to do so. Being trapped with her in a place where he could do nothing but tell the truth? Of course, what could go wrong! 

“We’ll be here when you guys get back. If not then Harry’ll just orb us out of here and we’ll figure something else out,” Macy said. 

Maggie and Mel nodded, then ducked out the door. As they disappeared into the darkness it began to close once more, inching closer and closer to its shut position.

“I am deeply insecure about my lisp! Sometimes I believe my students and coworkers make fun of me for it behind my back,” he offered without thinking, holding out his hand as if that would make the door give him some sort of sympathy. It paused in its path, and then swung back the other way. He sighed, deflating in relief. 

“I like your lisp,” Macy said from beside him. 

He furrowed his brow, turning to face her with his confused expression. “You do?”

“Yeah, I like your voice.” She glanced toward the door, stuttering when it began to move again. “Uh, yes! Yes! Your accent, your vernacular, everything about the way you speak. It’s all very charming and I just- I really like listening to you talk. Mostly when you aren’t lecturing us and you’re just talking about something. Like last week, when you went on that rant about your students using APA instead of MLA formatting even though you put that in your syllabus? I uh...may have purposely got you riled up about it just to hear you talk more.” 

“Well,” he looked away, a warm blush heating the skin of his neck and cheeks. He cleared his throat, “Thank you, Macy, that’s-” 

“Later, Harry, right now we need to keep that door open for Mel and Maggie.”

He looked to the door, waiting until it began to move once more before he spoke again. “I do not miss the 1900’s. I have grown very fond of the modern age and all its technology and innovations and the betterment of humanity over the years. And the food it far better.” 

Macy snorted, shaking her head as the door began to shut, and he searched his brain for something else. With a resounding sigh he tried again, “Alright, _ alright _ . I must admit that I actually enjoy watching _ Heaven’s Vice _ with you despite its shortcomings. The characters are quite intriguing and Angelica truly steals the show.” 

“I _ knew _ it!” Macy pointed him, a large grin appearing on her face that told him he was never going to live that one down. He ducked his head. “I knew it! And you totally use my Netflix account to watch it, don’t you? I knew I was on season 2 the other night when it started playing season 4! _ ” _

“Yes, yes, yes, but that’s not-” he looked at the door, watching as it got closer and closer to shutting itself, “I more so enjoy it because you enjoy it. Watching that show with you!” 

The door stopped and retreated. He continued, “I look forward to having conversations over it, hearing your point of view on something you love. It also gives me perspective into your past, which is always nice, even if your childhood wasn’t all the time, although I don’t have any my memories of my own to be able to relate to you. And having _ been _ on the with you, it’s made me, erm, what’s the word?”

“A fanboy?” 

“Yes.” And Harry should have been embarrassed further, but Macy was smiling at him in that brilliant way of hers, looking for all the world as though there was no where she would rather be, as if she wasn’t several meters below ground while her sisters were fighting a Demon while she was stuck here with him. He had to tell that part of himself that still held onto hope like a child with its favorite toy that it needed to settle itself down. She had admitted to wanting to pursue love once more. But that did not mean anything was going to happen. She did not want him.

He remembered the look on her face when she had heard his thoughts. That judgmental shift of her brows had torn through him with a jagged edge leaving him to mend the wound with shaky hands.

Damn it, where were Mel and Maggie with that infernal Demon? He wracked through his brain again in search for something else to say before the door could threaten to close once more. 

“I’m scared, too,” Macy admitted, capturing his attention as opposed to the spot on the floor he had resigned himself to stare at. “For the future, I mean. Things are good right now. Really good. I have my sisters, my job, my other job, a place to live, all the answers about my past...and I don’t want any of that to change. I don’t want to ruin it. This.” 

Harry nodded in understanding. Of course. She had admitted to feeling guilty for wanting to get back out there into the dating world after Galvin, it would only make sense that she feared such a thing would ruin the gentle balance the sisters had accumulated since stopping the apocalypse. 

“You can’t put your life on hold because of that,” and, the door be damned, he wouldn’t be able to just breeze passed this, not when she could think such harsh things about herself. “Change is not always a bad thing, sometimes it makes things that much better. Coming here to Hilltowne was a large change, wasn’t it?”

Macy scoffed, though he could see a smile underneath the sarcasm, “Yeah, you’re telling me.”

“But it wasn’t all terrible, was it? You found your sisters, and while Galvin is no longer with us I imagine you don’t regret meeting him, do you?”

“No.” 

He smiled, moving his hand as if to say, _ well there you are _. Harry held her gaze a moment longer. He lowered his voice to add, “You deserve to be happy, Macy.” 

Absently he could hear the creak of the door followed by the handle slamming back against the wall. It startled Macy enough that her eyes snapped over to the door that remained wide open. The truth of his statement was enough to have made the door want to go beyond its capability, the hinges squeaking in complaint. He saw something shift in her expression when she slowly turned back to face him, her eyes softening and lips parting as she took in a sharp breath.

“Harry,” her voice coming out in a whisper. Worried, he took a step closer and her arm moved as if she were trying to reach out for him. 

“What is it?” he asked, looking over her for signs of injury, magically inflicted or otherwise. 

“Harry, I-” 

“Guys!” Maggie’s voice cut Macy off and they both turned to watch as Mel and Maggie drug the Demon in by either leg. Both sisters looked ruffled, dirt clinging to their clothes, and the Demon passed out on the floor looked the worst of all with blood at their temple. “A little help?” 

Macy let out a breath and stepped away from Harry to focus on the Demon. Her powers lifted them to hover above the ground until it was laying along the back wall of the room. 

“Do you think that will hold it?”

“It should if it has remained standing for all this time. But, we best put a spell to seal the door to any outsiders,” Harry said. “Just to be safe.” 

They took one another’s hands, a glow emanating between their palms as they recited the spell. The door creaked, dust kicking up around it as the Power of Three touched it. The wood slowly pulled back into the dirt, hidden from the world. When satisfied with their work, the Charmed Ones turned to Harry. 

“I lost concentration on my magic a long time ago,” Mel said. “It’d probably be best if we-”

“Grab hold,” he told them before she could even finish. There was no way he was going to make them walk home after this draining night, even if it would cause him a lapse in power for the night. The sisters shuffled close to him and once he had his arms around Maggie and Mel, their arms tightly around Macy’s, he thought of the Vera-Vaughn house. 

They appeared in the attic a moment later, all giving a sigh in relief. 

“Good work, ladies.” He smiled as they all groaned in exhaustion. “Get some rest, it will be well deserved tonight.” 

“Thanks, Har,” Maggie plopped down on the sofa, tugging on a strand of her hair. “I call showering first!” 

“No fair! I’m the one who got attacked by that thing!” Mel huffed. “Twice!”

“That’s because you ran off ahead without the rest of us.” Maggie stuck out her tongue. “And I think me saving you trumps you getting attacked, so ha.” 

“Are you going back home?” Macy touched a hand to his elbow, pulling him away from the bickering sisters to find her looking at him with an open expression. One that should not have been paired with such a casual question causing him to worry that there was something more pressing she was asking with it. He could feel the heat of her touch under his layers as her eyes flickered over his face, in search of something. Harry only wished he knew what it was so he could give it to her. 

“No,” he managed to work out of his mouth despite how dry it had suddenly gone. Harry swallowed, “Well, yes, but not straight away. I should check on those we knew to have been infected by the Demon to see if locking them away has cured them. I’ll report back if not.” 

He felt her fingers curl tighter into the fabric of his blazer and it felt like molten steel, “I’ll go with you.” 

“That’s alright, Macy. I can take care of it.” 

“But what if-”

“Macy,” Harry placed his hand over hers and gently released her hand from his arm. He brought his other hand up to hold hers, squeezing lightly to press warmth and worry and Macy into his bloodstream. “Take care of yourself, you need your rest. You have work tomorrow.” 

“So do you.”

“I hardly think a quick trip to the hospital is going to keep me out all night.”

“Then if it’s not that big of a deal I can go, too.”

He stared at her, narrowing his eyes at her insistence, “Why?” 

She opened her mouth then shut it, glancing over his shoulder. He followed her gaze to where her sisters were still arguing over who deserved to shower first. When he looked back Macy was significantly closer to him, the proximity causing his fear to be replaced with something hotter, brighter. 

“I need to tell you something,” she said, keeping her voice low. 

Just as he was about to nod and orb them away, Mel relented to Maggie. “Whatever! But hurry up, we still need to discuss the meeting with the Ogres. Macy and I will be down stairs going over the notes.” 

Maggie clapped for her victory, pushing herself to her feet to forge her path to the bathroom. Harry watched as the Vera sisters retreated out of the attic, not giving Macy the time to explain as she closed her mouth against her protests. 

“Perhaps another time?” he ventured and she nodded.

“Tomorrow.” 

“Tomorrow,” he promised, releasing her hand from where he had sandwiched them between both of his. As he turned, preparing to orb to the hospital alone, he realized that she had not let go of him. Harry followed the line of her arm up her shoulder until he found her eyes. His brow furrowed at the fear he found there, the tension that had her holding her breath. “If it can’t wait-” 

“Macy!” Mel stuck her head back into the attic, eyebrows raised with expectancy. “What are you doing? Come on, we have a lot of stuff to go over.” 

He watched as Macy sighed, eyes closing for a moment as she seemed to recollect herself. Finally she smiled, forced as it was, and stepped backwards until the length of both their arms could no longer link the gap between them. “Be here tomorrow.” 

Before he could get out another word she turned and followed after her sister through the attic’s door, leaving him alone with questions he would have to wait to get the answers to. He allowed himself two breaths before he snapped his fingers to appear behind the hospital building. Harry fixed his attire, knocking off some of the dirt that had come home with him, and ventured into the hospital to check up on Mr. Henson and his teammates.

\--

Harry felt like he was falling.

Going, going, going,_ gone- _

“_ Macy! _” he called out. 

Except it was not him, exactly, but there was a Harry Greenwood running across the open space of a large room where tables filled with other kids were scattered about. He was a touch shorter but finally growing into his full height with limbs too lankey and hair flopping against his forehead instead of being styled back. 

What else was that Harry could tell what this Harry, which was not himself, was feeling so when his breath caught in his throat at the sight of the girl – Macy – lighting her head to look at him, he felt it. 

She had been focused on a book in front of her, a pen pressing into a notebook beside it on the table, but when she glanced up and caught sight of Harry her mouth pulled into a bright smile. 

Macy, no more than 15 with her hair pulled back and glasses too big for her face, said, “_Hey,_ _Harry, what’s-?_” 

He was standing in a bookshop where the shelves were too tight and the space was probably not up to the fire safety code, but he could not help but feel like he was at home. Except it was not him, but it sort of was because he was Harry Greenwood, only he was not himself and, oh, blast it, he couldn’t explain it. 

But Macy was also there. She was standing right in front of him with a book between her hands talking to him about how much she loved it and he realized that he had prompted her to tell him her thoughts since he had recommended and loaned the book to her at some point. 

And as she dropped the book onto the counter and asked him if he had anything else to give her he found himself thinking that Mel would hate him more than she already did if he continued to talk to her sister like this, having already made it very clear that her work life shouldn’t mix with her personal life. Only when he looked up to find Macy’s eyes he couldn’t help but to wave her to follow him as he stepped out from behind the desk. 

Then, as he stumbled down from his tip toes from reaching up to the top shelf to grab the book, Macy had her hands on his waist to steady him, it morphed- 

She loomed over him, her hand pressing harshly against his shoulder as pain exploded under his skin. They were covered in blood and dried mud. Harry could feel both covering the back of his throat, his teeth crunching the grit as he clenched his jaw.

Macy was begging him to keep his eyes opened. “_ Stay with me! _” 

And he was trying, fighting against whatever it was that was wanting to drag him back under but it changed-

Again. 

And again, and again, and again. 

Harry, but also not, was sitting on a bed. Macy was there, too, across from him. Their fingers laced together and she was laughing. Her head was thrown back and he could do nothing but watch, grinning widely until she caught her breath. 

“_ You sneaky bastard! _” she said, pushing on his hands. 

“_ How could you expect me not to notice? You’re very bad at keeping secrets. _” Harry allowed himself to be forced onto his back, smiling as she threw a leg over his waist to pin him to the mattress. She shoved his hands down, bracketing his head between her arms. 

“_ It was supposed to be a surprise _,” she whined, falling forward to bury her face in his chest. Her grip on his wrists went limp and he wrapped his arms around her, chuckling all the while.

“_ And it was _ ,” he assured her. Then paused, squinting at the ceiling, “ _ in that moment, anyway. _” 

She groaned, Harry feeling it more so than he did hear it. “_ Why didn’t you tell me you knew? _” 

He waited until she looked up at him, propping her head up on her chin. _ “I didn’t want to press. I knew you would tell me when you were ready. _”

“_ And you want to go?” _ A beat. _ “With me? _” 

“_ Of course I do, _ ” Harry leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead and he could feel Macy lean into it, a soft sigh escaping her. “ _ I can’t very well stay here if you’re in another country. _” 

There was a hand on the hem of his shirt and a spark in Macy’s eyes. He leaned back against the pillows as Macy pulled herself up, allowing her lips to hover over his. Harry started to close the distance but before he could make contact he was already gone. 

Both in scrubs, Harry extended his bag of crisps to her. She sniffled and he shook it gently, urging her to take one. 

“_ Pay him no mind. Harper’s an ass, all us nurses’ve had to deal with him. You are going to be a great doctor, Vaughn.” _And he knew it down to his bones that the statement was true. 

_ “I don’t know.” _

_ “Well, I do,” _ he told her, smiling when she looked up at him, eyes still glassy. _ “And since I’ve been around both the good and the bad, you should take my word for it when I say you’re better than anyone I’ve seen roll through here.” _

_ “Thanks.” _After another jiggle of the bag Macy finally reached out-

She hoisted her trophy above her head and the crowd cheered. His cheeks hurt from smiling for so long and so hard, palms from clapping so loudly. Macy grinned at him, her nose wrinkling. 

“_ Your Mixed Doubles Champions of Wimbledon, Vaughn and Greenwood-” _

A gentle breeze. The smell of the Earth. There was a thick blanket underneath them as they lay in the shade of the oak tree that had watched them grow up. Her hand reached out to find his, easily. He touched the inside pocket of his coat where a small box- 

_ “Greenwood?” _ her staticy voice emanated from an ear piece. _ “How’re you doing?” _

_ “Haven’t died yet, so,” _ he sniffed, continuing down the eerie stone tunnel that reeked with the rot of decay. _ “Though I do wish I’d been of the mind to use a proper loo before I fell down here. Tell me something, Doctor Vaughn, why is it that whenever you're around I inevitably find myself hiking through some dark cave or forest, courting danger? Why can it never be someplace pleasant?" _

He could hear her trying to hide her laughter and-

“_ Macy,” _he begged. The concrete was cold against his knees, the palms of his hands as he tried to hold himself up. Harry was looking at her, breathes coming in harshly as she crouched down to meet him. 

Her eyes were black, dark veins running underneath.

She reached out a hand to take his chin between her thumb and forefinger. The touch was gentle, familiar. He gasped, _ “I know you’re still in there. Come back to me. Please.” _

Macy grinned at him in amusement. Her other hand came up, fire crackling on her finger tips.

“_ Goodbye, Harry-” _

\--

Harry, the real Harry Greenwood, who was 99 but looked around 37, who was the Whitelighter of the Charmed Ones, awoke in his bed with a start. 

It was still dark inside his bedroom, the sun having not yet risen. He lay in bed for a moment longer before he switched on the lamp that sat on his bedside table in order to get up and begin researching just what the bloody hell that was.


	5. Soul Solution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> take heed of the rating change, kids!  
still no beta, so i am so sorry for any mistakes. thanks for coming by!

“We’re up to five.” 

Mel sat down hard in her seat at the head of the dining room table. To her left was Maggie who closed her eyes at the news. To her right, Macy, who only allowed the news to distract her momentarily from her computer before she went back to reading the article she had pulled up about the recent attacks that had been cropping up in the woods of Hilltowne. 

“Why did they even let people go camping when we’ve already had three cases of suspected animal attacks?” Macy clicked angrily at her computer. 

“I’m sure it’s because no one at the police station actually thinks this is due to any animal.” Mel shifted in her chair, hands moving as she spoke, “Sure you get the occasional deer sighting every once and awhile, but no bear or wolf or wild cat would come close enough to town to maul anyone. And even if they did, five people? Unless they’re on a mental break I don’t think any animal would do this.” 

“Mel’s right,” Harry said, standing from where he had been using the other side of the table as his own work space. He allowed the news to sink in like a lead weight in his stomach. “And without knowing how the victims were attacked and killed, we’ll have no way of identifying what could be doing this.”

“We might have another way to get answers,” Macy said. Her eyes flickered over the screen, her reading capabilities far faster than anyone else in the room due to the accumulated years of sitting in her room, alone, with nothing but books to occupy her time. “One girl was left alive in this last attack. Olivia Graham. She was admitted into the hospital. We should go talk to her, see if she can tell us anything about what killed her friends.” 

“You really think the hospital is going to let all of us in? Again?” Maggie shook her head. “They probably already have our pictures up on the wall under a _ Do Not Let In _sign.” 

“Okay, then Maggie, you should go. Pretend like you were friends with her and ask her anything you can about that night.” Mel then turned to Macy, “We should go to the police station to see what they have on the murders. Photographs, evidence, whatever else they’ve collected so far. Maybe we’ll find something that they can’t explain.”

“I’ll stay here,” he said before Mel could even look his way to give him instructions. Harry gestured to the books, “If there’s anything that could be of use to us in here, I’ll find it.” 

“Okay! Let’s go.” The sisters stood, heading for the coat rack just beside the front door. Harry followed and stood in the doorway of the living room to see them off. “And remember! We all need to be back here by 5:00. That meeting with Natasha starts at 6:00 and we cannot be late again.” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Maggie rolled her eyes as she put on her coat, flipping her hair out from the collar. “Ugh, I hope this is the last time we have to go back. I hate their food. Why can’t Ogres understand the concept of Vegan-ish?” 

“Probably because they’re carnivorous in nature.” Macy held the door open for her sisters, waving them out. “And we can get you something to eat before we leave so you don’t have to worry.” 

Both Vera sisters stepped outside, waving to Harry who smiled and nodded to each of them before they were out of view. When he turned his eyes to their older sister she was already looking at him. His hands twitched at his sides, nerves making his movements more frantic, and he straightened up slightly under her gaze. 

As it were, they had not had a chance to be alone ever since the Truth Demon had been locked away. _ Tomorrow _ had turned into the day after that which had turned into the day after that which had then turned into now, two weeks later. And at first it had been due to minor inconveniences, their training regimen, having to babysit a witch’s gryphon while she and her Whitelighter tracked down its family, having to get rid of the girls’ neighbor’s memories of seeing Mel using her powers to grow a plant for a potion she needed, and having to attend a function at the Haunt in order to keep Mel from losing her mind among the lacrosse players who were taking over the place due to it being their Captain’s birthday. 

Harry had decided to leave it be. Whatever it was must have slipped her mind or had lost relevancy over time. If she had wanted to tell him by now she would have, he reasoned. 

“Be careful. Good luck,” he offered. 

“You, too.” And with that she was gone, the heavy door clicking shut behind her as the shuffle of the sisters’ footsteps along the wooden porch signaled that he was alone in the house. 

Harry walked back into the dining room from where he stood, the books waiting for him to return to his post in trying to find anything about what could have been responsible for the murders. Just as he was about to sit down something from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Instincts taking over, he rounded on them. Shoving the person back into the wall, one arm bending so his forearm was applying pressure to their throat. 

He stopped when he got a better look at them, face to face. She smiled, seemingly unbothered by their position, “Hello, Mr. Greenwood.”

“Ishara?” He pulled away completely, giving her a bow as he did so. “My apologies, I thought-”

“There’s no need, I should have called ahead, but there was no time,” the Goddess said, fixing her clothing that was not as he had remembered seeing her dressed in the first time. She wore modern attire now, black high waisted trousers and white heels that raised her height. She had on a white woven top with a split neck that was tied into a bow, shirred shoulders, long sleeves with golden button cuffs. And her dark curls were pulled back into a ponytail. “Something is wrong.”

“I...Yes, the Charmed Ones are investigating the murders-”

“That’s not what I’m here about. This is bigger than that.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Has anything happened to you or your Charmed Ones recently? Anything out of the ordinary?”

Well, that was certainly a loaded question. He looked around the room, trying to recall. Finally he shook his head, “No. Not that I’ve been made aware of.”

“You’re lying to me, darling.” With a small huff she stepped forward, backing him up until his thighs hit the dining table. He braced his hands against its edges as hers came up to press into his chest, irises glowing gold. 

  
  


He was standing on the roof of a building, a city’s skyline laid out in front of him. It smelled of exhaust and damp concrete. Behind him, footsteps, but he didn’t turn. 

_ “I was beginning to think I’d been stood up,” _ Harry, though not _ Harry _ , said, keeping his eyes in front of him. _ “You’re late.” _

_ “Sorry,” _ and he knew it was Macy by the sound of her voice, that sarcastic and playful tone she always brought out whenever she knew he was annoyed. _ “Had an emergency. You know how it is, when you get a call you just have to drop everything and go.” _

Finally she came into view, stepping around him to smirk. A black mask sat neatly over her eyes, covering every part of her features besides her lips but he knew her mouth, the shape of her jaw. Though this Harry, the one with the trench coat and police badge clipped to his belt, did not. He had no idea who this woman was beside the alias everyone had deemed her to be, Psyche. 

_ “What can I do for you, Detective?” _she asked, taking another step closer. He couldn’t hide the breath he let loose, the cold air turning it white between them. Harry cleared his throat, busying himself with gathering the notebook from his inside pocket. 

_ “I’m looking for someone. A woman.” _

Psyche hummed, bringing her hand up to gesture to his face, _ “Lose the tie, lean into the accent, and she’ll come to you.” _

_ “No, that’s not what-” _ He caught himself before he could fall further into her teasing. _ “I was told you may know where to find her.” _

_ “And who told you that?” _

_ “My partner. She’s her sister. Well, half sister if you’d like to get technical,” _ Harry pulled a photo from the notebook, turning it around to face the woman. _ “Her name is Macy Vaughn.” _

  
  


Harry hauled in air, his fingers tightening around the ends of the table in order to keep himself from falling to the floor under his weakened legs. In front of him Ishara’s eyes returned to their normal, dark brown, state as she stared at him in disapproval.

“You see?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “How long has this been going on?”

“Erm, I...a few weeks maybe,” he said, still trying to catch his breath. “I only thought it was dreams due to...well.”

“Yes, your love for the Charmed One. I know, dear.” The Goddess seemed to soften at this, her demeanor relaxing somewhat as she continued to look at him. “It matters not. We need to fix this.”

“And what is ‘_ it’ _ that needs to be fixed, exactly?” Harry stood back on his feet without the support of the table once he felt as though his legs were not going to give out. He pulled on the lapels of his blazer, trying to right himself. 

“Something happened in this universe, something that is pulling its walls down inch by inch until I’m afraid that it will cease to exist.” She didn’t so much as pause to allow Harry a moment to allow that information to sink in. “Do you know if Macy is experiencing the same thing?” 

“Er, no, like I said-”

“Ask her.” Ishara nodded. “I’ll be back, there’s something I need to see.” 

“Wait, I-” but she was already gone. 

\--

The sisters returned to the house before 5:00pm could roll around to report their findings to one another. 

Mel and Macy had located the file on the murder victims. None of the MO’s matched up, and nor the cause of death. The only that added up between them was the brutality in which the victims had died. One had been strangled, another hit over the head with something repeatedly, another torn apart. 

Maggie, from the help of Ms. Graham, had learned that whatever had killed her friends had been a huge being with thick limbs and sharp pointed tusks that didn’t fit inside their mouth. 

“But...that sounds like an Ogre,” Mel shook her head. Maggie shrugged, helpless to answer the question that loomed over them. “No way. They’re harmless, they’ve proven that to us.” 

“Olivia was terrified, Mel,” Maggie stated with vigor, not letting up. “And she was telling the truth, I could feel it.”

“If that is the case,” Harry cut in, “then we will have to bring it to Mrs. Dreher’s attention. Perhaps there’s a lone Ogre that has come to Hilltowne.” 

“Of course!” Mel huffed a sarcastic bout of laughter, throwing her hands up in the air with frustration. “Just when we’re about to get everything straightened out finally something has to come up to ruin it! Now they’re going to think we’re feeding into all the slander and prejudices that Ogres have been given over the years.”

“She’ll understand, Mel. If we show her the evidence and come at it from a diplomatic point of view then she’ll listen to us.” Macy placed her hand on Mel’s shoulder and nodded when her sister looked up at her, unsure. “You got this.”

“And we’ll be right there with you,” Maggie added. Harry remained silent, allowing the sisters to have their moment as he knew that his words of encouragement would not be needed. The corners of his mouth edged upward when he saw the tension in Mel’s shoulders release. She looked from Macy to Maggie and gave a firm nod. She stood up a little taller then, her hands moving to grab hold of her sisters, as if to prove to herself that they were there and they were going to stay there, by her side. 

“Okay,” Mel breathed. “Come on. We better get going.” 

Harry orbed them to the Dreher’s home. It was a large mansion located deep into the woods of Hilltowne, and was still under construction. As well as the other houses that were being built to surround it with the families of the clan. Ogres, while very good with putting together a fortress, were no miracle workers. They had began on the house when they had arrived, having bought the plot of land with the intention of starting new after being run out of their home a week after the sisters had stopped the apocalypse. 

Ever since Natasha Dreher, the clan’s leader, and the Charmed Ones had been in negotiations with them. Territory was a large part of the Ogre culture, knowing where their bounds were and being able to keep anyone else out of it was important to them. They enjoyed their space, having found over the years that those who were not Ogres had no interest in them other than to kill or capture them. Either for sport or out of fear due to tales that no longer applied. 

Ogres, yes, had once been predators. But that had been a long time ago. These days they blended into society like anyone else trying to live their lives among the humans. It was not hard to spot them out of their true form. They were usually built, large in size, with hands like gauntlets, and a demeanor that was rather standoffish. For the most part, that was all for appearances. Once one was able to get passed their thick, _ very thick _, skin and hefty bones, Ogres were just like anyone else. 

Though he had not seen the movie he had been informed that _ Shrek _ was right about one thing. Ogres had more layers than they were given credit for. 

They were much like werewolves, actually. Though they did not abide by the lunar cycle, they did not always appear in human form. When dealing with emotions out of their control, or if they simply wished to be in their true skin, they could transform into what the books described them as. Tusks, large hands, greenish-tan skin, pointed ears. They traveled in groups. Clans, as they liked to be called, with a leader to guide them. 

And up until now they had not caused any trouble for Hilltowne, or the surrounding towns that touched the forest they had laid their claim to. 

“Charmed Ones!” Mrs. Dreher greeted, her booming voice reverberating across the porch, when she opened the door. 

Her grin was welcoming as she pulled Mel, the closest person to her, into a hug. Then came Macy and Maggie’s turn, until she finally set her eyes on Harry. He braced himself, making sure to take in enough air while she wrapped her arms around him to crush him and his ribs until he could feel his back popping. He felt his feet leave the ground for a moment, only to touch back down again when she released him. 

“It’s good to see you! So glad you could make it!” Mrs. Dreher shooed them all inside where the rest of the clan leaders were waiting for them inside the living room. They all had some form of drink in their hand. A hearty shout of greeting seemingly shook the house as they all clambered over to greet the Charmed Ones. 

All went over smoothly in the beginning. Mel took point as they discussed what they had originally come there to speak on, coming to terms with how the Ogres would need to meet the Mermaids’ terms with the lake to which they agreed to after Mel had explained in terms they could understand that the lake was a place of residence, not a dumping ground. Questions were answered, loose ends were tied in neat bows, and in the end everyone seemed happy, even Leon Dreher, Natasha’s husband and second in command, had seemed to finally warmed up to the Charmed Ones. He had been the most antagonistic of the clan, always having something to argue or negative to say. He had given Mel a hard time despite the efforts she had been putting forth to make the clan happy while also not compromising too much to their unreasonable wants of the area. 

The leaders left after dessert had been finished, allowing Harry to eye Mel from across the table.

“Natasha, there’s something else we wanted to ask about,” she said once Mrs. Dreher had returned from the kitchen.

“Of course!” And as Mrs. Dreher looked around to Macy, Maggie, and Harry her smile slipped at the worry on their faces. “What is it?”

“We know you and your clan would have nothing to do with this, Natasha. You and your people have proven to be peaceful and I give you my word that we are not accusing you of anything. But we do need your help,” Mel opened her phone, tapping the screen, and passed it over to Mrs. Dreher who glanced down to the phone in confusion. Macy gave her a nod of encouragement, allowing her to pull the phone closer to her face, enlarging the images of the police reports. 

“What is this about?”

“Have you heard about the attacks that have been taken place in Hilltowne these passed few weeks?” Mrs. Dreher nodded, looking up at Mel who clenched her jaw and reached forward to swipe a finger across her phone screen. The woman’s face went steely as she stared at the pictures of the crime scene. 

“A girl survived one of the attacks,” Maggie said. “She managed to outrun her attacker, but she was able to look at the person who killed her friends. They were tall and built, with green tinted skin and tusks.” 

“I can’t believe this,” she sighed, setting the phone down. 

“Please, Natasha, we aren’t accusing you or anyone in your clan of-”

“I know, Melanie, and I thank you, but-” Mrs. Dreher sighed. “After the last attack Leon and I went out to the crime scene, it being closer to home than we liked, and the smell...passed all the death and human, there was no mistaking what had been there.” 

“Do you have any idea who could it have been, then?” Macy sat up in her chair. 

“No, sadly. Whoever is doing this has turned down a dark path and has been able to hide themselves from us.” Mrs. Dreher slammed a hand down on the table, “They are throwing away everything we’ve worked for! If word gets out about an Ogre being responsible for these murders then we’ll be forced to move again. And just when the little ones were getting used to their schools.”

“We aren’t going to let that happen. This is your home now, and we aren’t going to let one person ruin this for you and your people.” Mel reached out to take Mrs. Dreher’s hand and Harry watched the silent exchange between the two women. How Mel did not think herself capable for this job, Harry still did not know, for the look on Mrs. Dreher’s face was enough to tell him that she was a far better fit than any of the Elders previous.

A sob escaped the Ogre, and Mel was out of her seat to wrap her arms around Mrs. Dreher as she thanked her over and over again. 

“Would you mind if we took a look around the area?” Macy asked when they had broken apart, Mrs. Dreher drying her eyes with her sleeve. “See if we can find anything?” 

“No, no, that should be fine,” she said. “Everyone knows that you four are here. I’ll show you around, but we cannot allow them to know what we’re doing. I’m afraid it would start an uproar.” 

“We wouldn’t want that either. If whoever is doing this is here then they might try to run if they know we’re looking for them.” 

Going around to meet the members of the clan would have been a pleasant experience had they not been doing it under such pretenses. The Ogres were all very kind, except for a few who still had their own opinions on Witches. And there was nothing out of the ordinary that they could tell. Everyone seemed normal, talking about finding their new jobs and liking Hilltowne despite all its oddities. 

“We fit right in,” one had said with a deep chuckle. 

It wasn’t until the next door opened did anything actually happen. Mrs. Dreher had been giving them the run down on the last family they had just left from speaking with, a mother and her two boys whose father had been killed by a Demon for his hide several years ago, as she knocked. 

“And this house belongs to-” 

“Trevor?” Macy asked when the door had moved to reveal a man. 

“Macy?” the man laughed. “What’re you doing here? How did you-?”

“I didn’t know you were an Ogre!” 

“Uh, yeah, I mean that’s kind of the point.” 

“Uh, do you two know each other?” Mel asked, pointing back and forth between them. Macy nodded. 

“Yeah, this is Trevor Fielding. That friend I told you guys about? Who works in the IT department at the University?”

Harry knew the one. 

Macy had described him in great detail to Harry. Their first meeting in the university’s library when she had needed help with one of the printers. She remarked on his wit more than anything, how funny he was, a smile always curling on her mouth when his name was mentioned. He was usually apart of her stories of her outings with her other colleagues and was someone she often said she was meeting for a meal or coffee. It had been obvious to Harry that he was the one she had been thinking of while speaking of wanting to move forward in her life. 

It was not hard to see why she fancied him, he was far taller than her with muscles that were natural for those of an Ogre. His features, despite his species, were handsome though Harry loathed to admit such a thing. His pale skin was complemented by the dark hair that was well groomed, and the subtle beard that helped to define his already sharp jawline. And his eyes were a deep, warm brown, that had crinkles forming beside them as he grinned down at Macy. 

“You talk about me?” Fielding’s eyebrows raised. 

“Well yeah, how else am I going to tell my sisters about the guy who totally saved my job by getting back all of our data reports?” The playful tone of her voice made something uncomfortable clench in his chest, though he knew it well enough by now. 

Jealousy. An ugly thing that he needed to ignore because despite the uncomfortable feeling that crawled over his skin at the sight of Fielding’s eyes raking over Macy, Macy was smiling. She was pushing her hair behind her ear as she laughed at whatever it was that Fielding said in retaliation. 

She liked him. Obviously. Harry needed to respect that. He had said that Macy deserved to be happy, and he meant it. And if this Fielding fellow was apart of that equation then Harry would ensure that Macy was given what she deserved. 

“-and our Whitelighter, Harry Greenwood,” Macy was saying once he had pulled himself out of his thoughts. He stepped forward to offer Fielding a handshake. 

“You work at the University, too, don’t you?” Fielding asked as he crushed Harry’s hand in his grip. He clenched his jaw against the pain and simply nodded until he was released.

“Yes, I'm the head of the Women’s Studies Department.” He gave him a tight smile to which Mr. Fielding clapped him on the shoulder, making him lose his balance at the force of it.

The conversation continued, Mel and Mrs. Dreher asking the same few questions they’d posed to the other clan members to see if there was anything suspicious going on. All the while he and Macy shared side comments, inside jokes that had her laughing, and he did not know how much more he was going to be able to take. 

Which was a ridiculous claim seeing as this was going to be his life. He should have gotten used to it by now. Harry had come to terms with the fact that Macy would never return his feelings. She had been in love with Galvin while Harry had been coming to terms with his feelings with her, had been mourning his death for months, and he hadn’t felt like this about it.

Of course there had been the matter of Charity clouding his judgement, but that had passed, and Macy had still loved Galvin. So why did he feel such terrible things in regards to this man? 

Perhaps it was because Macy had not had eyes for anyone else since Galvin, so he had grown comfortable thinking he would never have to deal with anything of the sort. 

Or...perhaps it was because he had seen it. Himself and Macy. Together. 

Over and over and over again. Side by side, hand in hand, every night in his dreams. Some more pleasant than others, but it didn’t matter, because they were together in them. In every single glimpse and flash, it was the two of them. And maybe he thought that it was some sort of sign for what was to come. 

Only now he knew that hope was not for him. It had no right to be planted inside his heart to bloom something beautiful for it would only die under the soil, rotting away until it spread like a disease. It needed to be uprooted, pulled clean of its place to be disposed of. 

“Thanks, Trevor,” Macy said as they concluded the conversation. “See you for lunch tomorrow? Jefferson said he was calling in Thai for everyone.”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Fielding winked. 

Harry retreated from the house as quickly as possible, standing outside while the Charmed Ones finished discussing their plan of action with Mrs. Dreher. The bitter air of the Fall’s night whipped him across the cheeks, cooling down the smoldering heat inside his chest. 

He startled when Maggie touched his arm, her sharp gasp making him tug away from her. 

“Maggie, I’m so sorry, I didn’t-” he tried, swallowing at the tightness in his throat.

“It’s okay, Har, I should have said something.” She shuddered and he knew that it was not due to the cold. Maggie frowned at him and he hated the pity in her eyes. He held up a hand, as if it would get her to stop. 

“I’m quite alright.”

“Oh, yeah? Is that why you looked like someone made you drink remicrowaved tea during that whole conversation?” 

He did not answer, only turned his eyes back toward the trees surrounding them, jaw clenching. 

“Harry, you can’t lie to me. You’re a giant ball of jealousy right now, and I wouldn’t even have to be an empath to know.” Maggie gave him a look and he sighed underneath it. “It’s okay, I know how it goes. How do you think I felt when I saw Parker with Lucy? And I wasn’t even in love with him then.” 

He allowed her to take his hand and flood his system with reassurance and support. Her sisters only took a few more minutes before they rejoined them. With a short farewell to Mrs. Dreher and the promise that they would find who was behind all of this, Harry orbed them back home. 

Everyone began to part for the night, Maggie and Mel heading upstairs to their respective rooms while Macy ventured into the kitchen. He eyed the dining table, remembering what Ishara had asked of him that morning, and despite his inner protests, followed after her into the kitchen.

“Macy,” he said to alert her to his presence, “may I speak with you for a moment?”

“Of course,” she waved her hand, motioning for him to have the floor. “What’s up?”

Harry took in a deep breath, clearing his throat. He should have better prepared for this, having tried to work out what he was going to say while she and Mel had been out, but nothing had seemed to work. He figured that with the dire situation that Ishara had spoken of it was probably best that he cut straight to the point. 

“Ishara, the Goddess we met several weeks ago, came here today,” he said. “She was concerned that something was wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, she didn’t explain everything to me, only that she wanted me to ask if…” Harry looked away from Macy then, “if you were having any odd dreams?” 

Silence stretched on long enough for him to pull his eyes away from the counter to see if Macy was still in the room with him. She stood, unmoving, in the same spot on the other side of the island. 

“You have,” he answered, the look on her face enough for him to know. It made him stand up, no longer leaning as heavily on the island. “What are they of?” 

“You,” Macy said in an instant making both of them stiffen at the surety of it. She tore her eyes away from him, a nervous bit of laughter spilling out, “And me! Us, really. Maggie and Mel are there, too. Most of the time. And it’s normal, usually, like bits and pieces of life. But I-I know things in them? Like this one where we had a dog and her name was Meredith, but we all called her Mere, and someone named Lindsay gave her to us but I don’t even know a Lindsay.” 

“Anything else?” he asked, desperate at getting to hear everything he had been feeling these passed few weeks in the words of someone else. 

“It feels real, almost, but before I start to really connect to it I get pulled away and put into another setting. It’s like someone’s changing the channel inside my own head.” Macy shrugged, slumping back down to take a drink of the tea that had been stewing in front of her. She narrowed her eyes at him from over her mug, and quickly set it back down. “How did she know about that?” 

He hesitated to answer, stuck in place as the truth sat there on the tip of his tongue. Instead he was shaking his head, a shrug lifting his shoulders, “I don’t know. She only asked me to relay the message. Erm, how long have these dreams been occurring?”

“Uh, well…” she squinted, tilting her head. “A while actually. Ever since I was the Source I think. But it was never- before a few nights ago all I ever got was flashes, glimpses. Smelling or hearing something for a second and then it was gone. Now I keep getting these full scenes” 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Harry asked, only mildly aware of how concerned he sounded. But that was his job as both her Whitelighter and her friend to be worried when she didn’t feel the need to come to him about things that could be putting her in harm’s way.

“I was! That’s what I’ve been wanting to tell you ever since our stint with that truth serum Demon, but it seemed like we never had time to talk about it so I just thought it was nothing and moved on.” Macy frowned, “Where is she? Ishara, I mean.”

“Haven’t a clue. She was in and out, but she looked shaken.” 

“Great. So not only do we have a murdering Ogre on the loose, but we also have the whole universe to worry about,” Macy sighed, exasperated and tired. 

“Everything’s going to be just fine, Macy, I’m sure the Goddess will come back with an answer for us, soon. For now let’s focus on what’s in our own backyard.” Harry gave her a soft smile when she peered up at him. She gave him a curt nod and stepped around the island, resting her hand over his.

“Thanks, Harry,” she said, curling her fingers under his palm. “And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the dreams, things have just been a little…”

“Busy?” he offered.

“I was going to say something more like, _ Insane _ but busy works, too.” 

They shared a chuckle and he knew that it was the best he was going to be able to get from her for tonight. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Goodnight, Harry.” 

“Goodnight.” He lingered for only a moment more, feeling his skin tingle where she was touching him, wanting to return it, to close the distance until there was nothing left between them. Instead he ran, orbing back to his condo to retire for the night. 

\--

That night he dreamt that he was packing up his things in the library with Macy from their study session for the semester’s final examinations. The motion activated lights around them came back to life on their path to the stairwell and out the door. 

Macy slipped her hand in his as they walked side by side across campus.

_ “So, Tabitha is staying at Kim’s tonight,” _she said as they got closer and closer to where he had parked the car. He knew this to be the name of her flatmate and her flatmate’s girlfriend. The words made his stomach swoop, his feet coming to a stop. The only light was across the street in the parking lot, but he could tell by the way she was avoiding his eye that she was embarrassed. He never liked to see her so uncomfortable in his presence. 

_ “Macy Vaughn,” _ he said with a smile, eyes narrowing, _ “are you making a passing at me?” _

_ “No, of course not,” _ she scoffed, matching his teasing with ease. She raised her right hand, the one he was not still holding, _ “I’m simply stating the facts and offering you, a weary traveler, a place to stay for the night.” _

_ “Oh, the facts, hm?” _ Harry used their connected hands to pull her closer to him. _ “And why should I take you up on it? You must have something pretty good to tempt me to trust your choice of tea for the night.” _

Macy hummed, tilting her head back as she animatedly went through her mind to see how to answer him. A finger tapped at her chin, her lips pressing against each other while her eyes squinted up at the sky. Harry could not help but to chuckle, and eventually she looked back at him. 

The playful demeanor faded away leaving something completely vulnerable to stare back at him. She released her grip on his hand and he allowed her to, watching carefully as she brought her hands up to cup either side of his jaw, thumbs brushing his cheekbones to make him shiver under the gentleness of it. 

_ “Is _ anything _ a good enough answer?” _

_ “Anything?” _ he found himself repeating, his brain working slower than normal due to the drug that was Macy Vaughn’s touch causing him feel heavy and stupid. She bit her lower lip in an attempt to hide the smile that pulled the corners of her mouth up but nodded anyways, blinking up to meet his eyes. _ “But all I want is you.” _

_ “Then have me,” _ she said, her words articulated clearly so that he could not have missed her meaning as he had a tendency to do when it came to matters such as these. Macy leaned in so close he could feel her breath on his mouth, their noses brushing against one another. Harry’s eyes widened, air escaping him from where his jaw went slack. 

_ “Are you sure?” _he managed to say without swallowing his tongue, though his voice was too quiet. He felt her hand slide down to mold to the side of his neck, fingers running over his pulse point that pushed against his skin to meet her. He felt flushed all over, like he couldn’t escape the heat despite the temperature outside. 

_ “I’m sure.” _He could feel her other hand leave his face only for it to reappear on his hip. Her fingers pried under all his layers, finding their way to his hip bone, the cold air touching his feverish skin making him gasp sharply. Macy smiled, her eyes half hooded as she inched forward until their mouths were so close he couldn’t help but to lean in to meet her half way. Only she pulled back, giggling when he opened his eyes to see what was wrong. 

_ “I said my place, not the sidewalk on the edge of campus.” _

_ “Ah, right,” _ he looked around them, as if remembering that the world was not made of solely of the two of them, with a sheepish smile. _ “Shall we?” _

_ “Try not to kill us before we get there?” _Macy dipped her chin forward to eye him. She pulled him by the hand, making him pick up the pace as they crossed the street. 

_ “Don’t grope me in public and maybe then we’ll make it back with our heads.” _

_ Wake up. _

Harry furrowed his brow, _ “I’m sorry?” _

_ Wake up. _

Macy looked back at him with the same mild confusion, eyes cutting to the side to see what else he might be hearing. She shook her head, _ “I didn’t say anything.” _

_ Wake up. _

_ “But-” _

\--

“Mr. Greenwood, wake up.”

Harry opened his eyes to find Ishara standing at his bedside. He blinked once. Twice. And when she was still there, he sat up. “Good morning?”

“Did you speak with Macy?” 

“Yes.”

“And?”

“She said she was experiencing the same thing. Has been for a long time now, even before myself.” 

The Goddess sighed. A haunted look passed over her face. “We have a problem.” 

“Yes, you said that before.” Harry pulled the blankets and sheets off of him to swing his legs off the bed so he could stand. He was still in his pajamas, and while rather embarrassing to be dressed so informally in front of a Goddess who looked very well put together for this hour of the morning, he did not move to change his clothes. “Would you care to explain what that means?”

“Have you or your Charmed Ones been to another reality recently?” 

“Uhm, yes, actually,” Harry found himself saying, surprised by it. He had never ventured out of their own realm until he had been assigned to Mel, Maggie, and Macy. Then again, he had done a lot of things he hadn’t before meeting the three sisters. 

“How?” 

“Macy. She took on the Source and had a minor power trip.” 

“But you came back?”

“Obviously.” Harry gestured to the room around them. The same room he had been living in ever since he had come to Hilltowne. Nothing in it had changed such as when he had been living in the reality where Mel had been cast aside where his bed had been facing North instead of West, or his bedsheets being blue instead of grey. 

“But not to the right one. You changed things, didn’t you?” 

“No, we-” he paused, then shook his head. “Well, sort of. But all we did was go back to a point in time within this same reality, I don’t see how that could be creating a problem. Everything has seemed to be functioning properly thus far, has it not?” 

“No. She broke something,” she told him, voice soft. “As of two weeks ago she ripped open the tear into something more akin to a gaping hole in the wall of this reality. So much so that others are bleeding through.” 

“Why now?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out.” 

“She said she’s been having these dreams since she became the Source, but it’s only happened now that they’ve been affecting me as well, do you know why?” 

“Yes,” the Goddess admitted, lowering her eyes to the ground, eyelashes flickering. “My bind that was placed on the two of you. It would seem that it amplified your connection to Macy, solidifying it and-”

“Allowing me to see what she’s been seeing.” Harry sighed when Ishara nodded solemnly, “Why me? You said she had bonds to her sister’s as well, yes? I know they would have said something, Maggie would have told all of us about a dream where she had been a pop-star.” 

“Your bond is...different than theirs,” Ishara narrowed her eyes at him, assessing for something, but said nothing more. Harry supposed that made sense seeing as neither of the sisters had been cursed to be bound to Macy as he had been.

“Then how do we fix this?” 

“Darling, if I knew it would have already been done.” She sat down on his bed. “We need to tell your Charmed Ones. Macy was the one to do this, accident or no, she may be the key to fixing it. Where is she now?” 

“Her home, sleeping most likely,” he said, wondering if she’d been seeing the same dream that he had, if she was still within that reality to witness where that night had taken the two of them. Harry blinked, watching as Ishara rose from her seat. He put up a hand, “And we are not going to disturb her at this hour.”

“She can sleep after this has been dealt with.” 

“No. If this concerns Macy then it concerns Mel and Maggie, too. Right now they are all in need of their rest. ” Harry stepped in front of Ishara when she made a move for the door, and he may have had height on her but he did not have any power here. She was a Goddess who had been alive for eons. She had been given sacrifices, temples had been built in her name. She had been worshipped. In comparison, Harry was less than nothing with no right to protest against her wishes. And yet he did because while the fate of the world may have been at stake, his loyalties were with his Charges. 

He waited for her wrath to come forth, for some sort of punishment to be dealt for what he had done. It was what the Elders would have done, what they had always done when he spoke out of turn against their judgements. Instead, Ishara gave him a smile and reached up to pat his cheek. 

“Very well, Mr. Greenwood. We’ll speak to your Charmed Ones about this in the morning.” 

He blinked and when he opened his eyes he was alone in his bedroom. 

\--

Harry did not fall back asleep that night, instead he tried to find everything he could on the concept of other universes. Every iteration and theory that had ever been presented until his eyes burned from looking at the screen of his computer. He had been knee deep in mythos and different culture’s explanations for it to see what lined up and what contrasted. And only when the sun peaked out from over the horizon did he start to get ready for the rest of the day. 

It wasn’t until he was serving the girl’s their danishes did Ishara make her appearance. He had lowered the plate for Maggie only for a hand that was not Maggie’s to take one instead. Following the danish upward to watch as the Goddess took a bite. 

“Good morning, everyone, I hope you’ve all slept well,” she greeted as the Charmed Ones starred. Harry rolled his eyes, using the tongs to place a danish on Maggie’s plate and continuing on his route around the table to Mel and Macy. “I take it your Whitelighter has not informed you of what’s been taking place in this universe?” 

“Harry,” Mel pulled her eyes away from the Goddess to look at him in confusion. “What is she talking about?” 

He opened his mouth as Ishara said, “This universe could very well cease to exist if we do not act quickly.” 

“This universe,” Macy repeated, her eyes lighting up. “As in there are other universes? As in the multi-theory is real?” 

“Wait, what?” Maggie finally spoke. “The world can’t end! I haven’t done anything yet! I’ve just been studying my ass off for these stupid finals.” 

“The world is not going to end, Maggie.” He sent her a reassuring smile as he set the plate down.

“Ever the optimist Mr. Greenwood, but I’m afraid you cannot promise that this time.” Ishara pulled the chair that sat beside Maggie out to sit down. “We have much to discuss.” 

The conversation continued a lot like the one he’d had with the Goddess the night before. By the end of Ishara’s question and answers with the sisters Harry caught them looking at one another with guilty looks on their faces. 

Spending as much time as he did with them he knew all of their looks, ranging from _ ‘We accidently set something on fire via magic’ _ to _ ‘We have a surprise for you but we can’t keep it a surprise anymore and we’re going to break if you so much as ask us about it.’ _

“Ladies,” he warned them, resting his elbow on the table to give himself a tad more leverage as he leaned forward. “What is it?”

Maggie opened her mouth and both her older sisters yelled to stop her, “Maggie!” 

“Guys, this is the universe we’re talking about!” she argued back, looking to her sisters with a helpless expression. Mel looked at Macy whose eyes were focused on her hands fidgeting in her lap. Harry met Maggie’s again when she sighed, “We may have performed a teensy little spell the other night to help Macy sleep better.”

He blew out a breath through his nose as he clenched his jaw, trying to keep his temper from leaving his grip. “And what was this spell?” 

Maggie shrunk down in her seat, her height diminishing as she tried to disappear below the table. “The Addormentarsi ed Vede?”

“You _ what? _”

“We didn’t think it was that big of a deal!”

“I have told you, repeatedly, that that spell is far too powerful for any of you to be using! Especially with the Power of Three. It’s not for commercial use,” Harry scolded, eyeing every single one of them until they could no longer hold eye contact with him. “Do you know what you could have pulled from her mind? What damage you could have done? Not only to Macy’s mind but to the-” 

“Yes! We tore a hole in the fabric of the freaking universe!” Mel griped back, scoffing at Harry as he gave her a disapproving look. “We were trying to help our sister get some sleep, you cannot blame us for trying to help.” 

“You could have tried something else! Melanie, I have told you what that spell is for, what made you think pulling something from Macy’s brain would allow her to sleep?” At this the sister’s remained silent, giving him nothing to work off. “The state of this reality is at stake and you’re all going to decide not to speak now?” A beat. “Ladies!” 

“Does it really matter? Let’s just...move on, okay? We used the spell. It opened a hole in the universe. Macy is seeing other realities,” Mel blew out a breath, her anger simmering to a lower heat. “We need to focus on how we’re going to fix it.” 

Harry opened his mouth to reply but found that he could not. They were hiding something from him. The person they were supposed to rely on to protect them, to confide in no matter what the topic, to call for when they needed help. He hadn’t even known Macy had been having trouble sleeping. She had never mentioned and he had not noticed. 

That was probably where he was getting the most frustrated, that he had missed something and had failed them once again. If he had known, if he had seen the signs, none of this would have happened. Hell, if he had been better at his job Macy would never have had to take on the Source in the first place to save Maggie and their reality would not have been disturbed. None of this would have happened. 

And yet he was still hurt by Mel’s words. He swallowed and felt the tightness in his throat that had formed as a result of the emotion welling up inside of him. 

In front of him Mel and Ishara were trying to work things out, Maggie turning back and forth between them as they batted around ideas. Macy was staring at him and he could see it on her face. The weight of the guilt that her sisters were not wearing. 

She had been the one to ask them to keep it from him, whatever it was that she wanted to be rid of inside her head. And suddenly it all made sense.

_ Him _. 

The dreams. Even if they were small flashes, bits and pieces that didn’t make up a whole as Macy had described, she had wanted to get rid of them. She had not been sleeping because of him. That was why her attitude toward him had reverted back. Not only because she knew of his feelings but because she saw them. Her and him, together, in the other universes. Where he had taken it as a sign of something more she had only seen it as a grievance, something that needed to be ripped from her mind and tossed out into the rubbish bin. He found himself in pain all over again.

Even though he knew better, knew _ Macy _ better than that. Realistically he knew that Macy was probably embarrassed by these dreams just as Harry was and had wanted to be done with the connection to him as it had plagued her in the night. But the parts of him that were still healing over from wounds inflicted by those he thought he could trust in the past were flashing back to all the times he had been lied to before. By Fiona, by the Elders, by Charity. It was making everything translate back to, _ She doesn’t trust you and she never will. You’ll never be enough for her. _

He had felt like he had not only been needed but wanted, too. Only it would seem that he had been kidding himself. Played the fool for so long he didn’t know what other part he fit into. How absurd he was to want something so impossible, the want for something that he knew could never come to pass. And, good lord, it felt as though he had been severed from his powers all over again, the gravity of the situation overwhelming as he sat frozen in his seat. 

Harry tore his eyes away from Macy, standing from his chair.

“Please excuse me,” he managed to work out of his mouth. “I’ve a meeting I need to get to this morning. Have a good day, all.”

He orbed before anyone could move or say anything more. 

His office was as he had left it the day before, the morning sun coming in through the windows behind his desk. Harry allowed himself the minute to stand in the space, alone, to process everything before a knock on the door alerted him to his responsibilities in having to keep up appearances. 

And thus the day went on as if it were any other.

Lectures, students asking him both brilliant and dull questions, the faculty running him up the wall, and in between it all, actual research work. The girls had been pinging his phone all throughout it. After having attempted to read the same line of Hegel for what felt like the 50th time he finally snapped, irritation causing him to close the book and sit back in a huff. 

Harry stood then, unthinking, and snapped his fingers to get away from it all before he did something he would regret, like be impolite with his TA or, heaven forbid, email someone in this state of mind. 

When he reappeared the temperature had dropped significantly, the light of the day subdued from where it had just been perfectly sunny out. Hilltowne had its own aroma, most recently the falling leaves of the surrounding forest, but where he was now had its own smells. Familiar in a way that was both foreign and nostalgic all at the same time. 

It didn’t take him long to realize he’d run away halfway across the world, Manchester soil sitting below his fee, the evening settling in with a thick mist with only the street lamps to light the way.

With a sigh he pulled his arms in closer to himself and walked out from the alleyway he had found himself in to venture down the sidewalk in the hopes that it would cure him of the ache that had formed between his ribs that had quickly begun to spread since that morning. 

\--

_ Harry! Please get your butt here! We need you, this is a major emergency! _Maggie cried out hours later. 

The bitter air of the night had run him inside a pub. Only for him to sit at the bar staring down a pint of porter that he had barely touched. His mind had been too preoccupied by other things to remember there was a source to numb the pain right in front of him. 

He stood abruptly, causing the bartender to send him a curious look from where she was washing glasses. He simply smiled at her in apology and made a break for the restrooms. The room was empty and he was able to orb to where Maggie was still calling out for him. He was cold and damp, but at the ready to defend his Charges, as wounded as he felt by them. 

He spun around to face Maggie who let out a noise of relief at the sight of him. “Harry! Thank god!” 

They were in the woods, the sun having set on this half of the world, too, giving them little to no light to work with. At the sounds of anguish his attention turned toward a violent scene. Mel was being held by her throat far above the ground, feet attempting to kick against torso and hands thrashing at the arm that had her hoisted into the air. 

The person who had a hold of Mel was unmistakable, too large, too built, and smelled far too foul to be anything other than an Ogre. Harry moved then, jumping onto the Ogre’s back and wrapping his arm around the thick neck to squeeze at both the trachea and carotid artery. 

Seemingly upset at being attacked in the same way he was treating Mel, the Ogre grunted. He released the witch, letting her drop to the ground in favor of digging his claws into the skin and muscle of Harry’s arms, but he only held on tighter. The Ogre gasped, and stumbled backward at a rapid pace. Too late did Harry realize what was to come and felt himself being smashed between a tree trunk and the full weight of the Ogre. 

He was forced to release his grip, crumpling to the ground when the Ogre stepped away at being let go, nothing keeping him standing any longer as the pain struck through him. There was no time for recovery it seemed because the Ogre reached down to grab him up by the front of his waist coat and shirt. He slammed Harry back into the tree, his spine and head hitting in all the wrong spots. The Ogre pulled back only to strike him across the face with a fierce punch and then another, and another until it had Harry seeing white.

Absently he could hear Maggie’s cries from somewhere but Harry needed to ensure that the attention of the Ogre was on him and not his Charges. 

He was then thrown across the way into another tree, hitting it with his ribs first and then the ground. Rolling over onto his back he looked up to the looming figure staring at him. He was already stalking forward when Harry tried to shovel himself back, heels digging into the ground. The Ogre picked him back up, tossing him like a ragdoll into a grouping of boulders that he tipped over and fell to the other side of. 

The fighting style of his opponent was not really much of a style at all. They were relying on their brute strength, throwing him about without a moment to so much as breathe until he would be forced to retire and call uncle. And the worst part about it was that Harry knew there was no way to win this fight, his doom was imminent. It was only a matter of time before he hit something wrong, until the Ogre was able to pick him up and squeeze the life out of him without much effort. 

Given no time to think or act or retaliate he was once again pulled up by the Ogre, his hands wrapped around one of Harry’s forearms, finding his feet he threw a punch of his own that landed with a solid force to the eye socket. The Ogre roared in pain, fingers crushing the arm he had in his grip until he flung Harry back in favor of protecting his eye. 

He managed to keep his feet and grabbed hold of a loose rock, smashing it over the Ogre’s head. It broke apart into smaller sediments, dust kicking up and the Ogre barely flinched against it. Hard heads. Harry should have remembered that. The Ogre threw an uppercut like it was nothing, making his jaw slam up painfully. He stumbled, falling back as three more blows hit their marks. 

The Ogre followed after him, already there when Harry managed to scramble to his feet to knock the wind out from his lungs. When he leaned forward the Ogre had both hands fisting in the fabric at his back to shove him forcefully into the ground. He felt the boot on his spine, the weight of the Ogre pressing down to crush him. 

And then the Ogre was crying out, the noise vibrating the ground beneath him. The weight of the foot was removed and the ugly sounds of the Ogre diminished, stumbling footsteps in the fallen leaves fading quickly. 

“Oh my god, Harry!” Maggie said, kneeling beside him. “Are you okay?” 

“How did you-?”

Macy came into view then, panting heavily. She held up a small canister, “Pepper spray.” 

He smiled at her, and had he not felt as if he had been thrown over the face of a cliff, he would have been able to enjoy the pride and radiant affection that had welled up in him. 

With Maggie’s help he managed to get to his hands and knees, clutching at his middle where his ribs protested violently against his sudden movements. Not so far away, Mel was still on the ground. Using the sisters as his pillars to lean on the trio made it across the way to where Mel was lying back, holding her throat and struggling to breath against her crushed air passage. 

His palm glowed in the dim light, magic as weak as he felt. His vision had begun to blur, everything starting to sound like he had been encased in a thick layer of glass. But he didn’t much care to take that into consideration at the sounds of Mel’s fight to get air into her lungs. 

Somewhere he knew he shouldn’t have been doing this, that these types of injuries were delicate and required more focus than he was going to be able to give in his state. But he couldn’t bare the thought of allowing Mel to get hurt due to his absence and having to struggle to heal on her own until he was back up to par. He struggled to muster any more strength, pushing all the magic he could from his body, channeling to his hand and into Mel’s wounds. 

She heaved eventually, and every one gave a collective sigh in relief when she no longer sounded like she was choking. He turned his attention to the other two, worry flooding his system when he saw Macy holding onto her shoulder. The fabric of her coat was ripped, blood dying it crimson. 

“What happened?” 

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said, looking up from where he was pointing. “He got me when he was flailing around at the pepper spray. I’ll be fine.”

He stepped forward despite her words, bringing his hand up to hover over the wounds. The light of his magic allowed him to see the damage, the deep lacerations that the Ogre’s nails had caused after she’d had to save him. He focused, setting his jaw as he began to heal the scratches. 

He didn’t stop when he could feel the unmistakable spike of pain lick up the back of his neck, spreading out like a lightning bolt across his scalp. His nerves were fraying, but he only grit his teeth harder and forced himself to stay conscious, to scrap the bottom of the barrel for anything else he had left to give. It was a simple fix, he told himself, he could do this. 

“Harry,” Macy said, a hand coming up to wrap around his wrist. “Harry, that’s enough. You’re going to wear yourself out.” 

But he didn’t stop, he only moved his hand farther up her shoulder until the skin was repaired fully, as if nothing had ever happened to her at all. As it should have been. The light from his palm receded and Harry _ hurt _, not only due to the physical wounds but there was a sharp stabbing pain where his magic was scrambling to repair the damage done to his systems. 

“Harry?” He looked up to find her stare on him with wide, concerned, eyes. He swayed for a moment until he slumped over, allowing the pain and exhaustion to catch up with him as the knowledge that all of his Charges were going to be fine sunk in. 

\--

Harry, but not Harry because he was wearing something more akin to what he had worn in his former life, stepped from the boat and onto the port where shipments of food and other goods were being pulled on and off the vessels, people pushing past one another in a rush to be somewhere, and trunks filled with people’s possessions stacked up in a pile ready to be loaded up. He paid them no mind, his destination already set. Harry forged through the crowd, avoiding the shoulders of those not paying attention to where they were going and the carts of goods that passed in front of him with no care as they had their deadlines to meet before boats departed on their trade routes.

He picked his head up, slowing his pace when he thought he heard someone calling his name, only for it to be lost to the sounds of the docks. When he could not find the source he dismissed himself, knowing that it was probably just a trick of the voices around him. He turned back, narrowly avoiding a woman trying to corral her children.

And then he heard his name again and again, getting louder and he turned once more, this time to watch as Macy Vaughn weaved through the crowd. He swallowed hard at the sight of her. In one hand she had the hem of her skirt to keep herself from tripping as she jogged forward to meet him and in the other she held a trunk of her own. His heart picked up speed inside his chest, anticipation curling in his stomach when they were finally face to face merely separated by a few paces and not a whole ocean. 

They remained silent for several moments, simply drinking in the sight of one another after having been parted for these past treacherous weeks. Her last letter sat in his breast pocket, burning a hole through the fabric.

_ “Mr. Greenwood,” _ she said, bowing and only then did he remember his manners in returning the gesture. He could feel his shirt sticking to his back, sweat forming due to the surprisingly stifling heat of the spring sun. _ “This is certainly a surprise. Where, may I ask, are you off to?” _

_ “Well, to find you, actually.” _

_ “Oh?” _

He nodded, _ “It would seem that your sisters were under the impression that I was engaged to be married to Charity Callahan.” _

_ “Her sister told us as much last night.” _

Harry laughed, thoroughly amused by the web of lies and misunderstandings that had been tangled around the two of them. He shook his head, his grin falling from his face as he continued to look at Macy, _ “I had heard. My sincerest apologies for how that family has treated you and your sisters.” _

_ “You have no need! It is I who needs to apologize to you, after everything you’ve done for me and my sisters.” _ She gestured toward the boats, _ “I was on my way to find you as well. I needed to make amends and ensure that you knew we would support the marriage.” _

_ “I thank you,” _ Harry said and took a step closer, the sounds of the docks narrowing down to a dull rumble of background noise as he focused on her. _ “But I can assure you that there is only one woman that I would ever be engaged to be married to, and that is not Charity Callahan.” _

Macy’s eyes widened at his statement and he could see as her breath got stuck in her throat, her mouth closing to try and reclaim what had been lost. 

_ “You have already done too much, Mr. Greenwood,” _ she said and then shook her head, taking a small step backward. _ “I cannot ask you to do this for me, too.” _

_ “Then allow me.” _ He reached forwards, taking both her hand in his. Harry brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. _ “Macy Vaughn, would you-” _

  
  


He woke with a start in the hospital to the sound of voices that he had never heard before and almost thought he had fallen into another universe not his own. 

After a moment’s panic he had realized that it was a doctor and nurses going over his state of well being with his Charges. Everyone had been happy to see him awake, the girls surrounding his bedside in an instant.

They had been informed that apart from the surface damage, he had three bruised ribs and a dislocated shoulder to go along with a mild concussion. Nothing was broken, however, so he was very lucky. The doctor had also said they wanted to keep him there overnight, just to make sure that everything inside was going to be okay and to make him more comfortable instead of going home alone that night so that he wouldn’t try to look at any screen with blue light and to ensure that he was able to wake back up once asleep. 

Harry, though, did not agree with this assessment and despite all the protests he would be checking himself out of the hospital as soon as possible. The doctor had tried his best but knew in the end that all he could do was give his medical advice and mild resistance before Harry would be able to sign himself out.

He caught sight of Macy’s glare after the doctor had left the room, the Vera sisters following behind. It was one he knew very well, having been on the receiving end of it for quite some time. Only this one had more than its fair hint of disappointment imbedded. 

“What?” he asked, already pulling the bag with his wrinkled clothing out from underneath the bed. 

“You should stay here,” she said. “You were nearly beaten to death, Harry. You’re vulnerable right now and you need to be where people who know what they’re doing can keep an eye on you.”

The words, he knew, were meant to be out of worry and looking out for his well being, yet they stung worse than any wound he had on his body. He was tired, in pain, and most of all he felt...useless. Like an absolute failure as a Whitelighter. They had brought him into the bloody _ hospital _. He had a butterfly bandage on his cheek, larger bandages elsewhere, and a sling his arm was cradled in, pinning it to his side in order to reduce the movement of his shoulder. 

He felt like an idiot, he _ looked _ like an idiot. Embarrassed and humiliated beyond measure, he did not want to be around other people at the moment. He just wanted to be home, alone, to fall apart so he could put himself back together without anyone having to witness such an atrocity. 

“I will be fine,” he assured her. “Please. It’s very late and I’ve already kept you up long enough. You and your sisters need to go home and get some rest. Stop worrying about me.”

“Harry, you almost died. _ Again _.” Macy folded her arms over herself and stuck out her hip. “You need time to recover.”

“As I recall both you and Mel were injured, too.”

“And then you almost killed yourself healing us! I would have been fine without your help,” Macy huffed, and he could see her arms tighten around herself as she clenched her fists. “Listen to me, you need to stay here. They have the equipment and the staff who can take care of you if something goes wrong.” 

Irritation prickled over him and he was usually very good about keeping his temper. 

Everyone knew that Mel was the master of finding everyone’s buttons, of hitting them right where it hurt with words that pierced. At first he had been very good at deflecting her anger as she was a stranger to him. She was his Charge and he her Whitelighter. It was only when they became friends that she had been able to really chip away at him, but it had also built up his resistance to the low blows and cheap shots at his insecurities. 

With Mel he knew why she said what she did, to harm in order to keep others out. To show everyone that she was all barbed wire with the force of a raging river inside. And while she was, Harry also knew she could be as soft as the stilled surface of a pond on a summer morning. He knew that her words may be harsh, but they were those of protection. 

With Maggie her words were out of hurt. The world was hers simply because she possessed the ability to see the best in it, enjoying the presence of the fallen leaves, the relief of shade on a warm day, a cat that wandered by. She saw the world as no one else did, aware of everything that went on while those around her lived in blissful ignorance. Her emotions were her strengths, and for that reason she knew exactly how to use them like a weapon. While she did not have as many as Mel, her words often sliced deeper when she was looking to inflict the pain she felt inside of her. 

When the wounds that Parker’s absence had left were still fresh she had often lashed out, trying to keep them to herself to heal in isolation. But Harry had not allowed for her to go down that road again, and was often the one who had weathered the storm. Her sisters did more than their fair share, of course they had, but they had their own losses to mourn, too. Their own places of hurt that they did not want to taint Maggie with. So Harry had filled in where he could, and it had been difficult, but nothing he couldn’t withstand. 

And then there was Macy who had the ability to get under his skin and stay there, digging in like she would never leave. She did it so effortlessly, able to find where the plates of his armor overlapped and pull the edges apart to reveal the most vulnerable parts to attack. Mouth like a revolver and every word a bullet. 

He knew she meant well, that she wanted him here because it was for the best. Had their roles been reversed, or either Maggie or Mel was in his position, he would have agreed. But he was the Whitelighter, the one who was supposed to protect and be stable and not feel an uncomfortable fire simmering in his chest at being told he needed to stay where other people could keep a watchful eye over him. He knew she did not mean that they wanted to pawn him off on other people but when he heard her telling him to stay he also heard her telling him that they didn’t want the burden of taking care of him, too.

“I’m fine,” he said, his words clipped. Curt. Absolutely nothing like his usual self and he hated speaking to her like this. 

“I think the long list of injuries the doctor just gave to us would beg to differ.” 

Harry cleared his throat, reigning himself in so that he did not snap at her when she did not deserve it. He focused on trying to get his things from the bag with his one hand. Frustration only made his fowl mood get worse, and he could feel her eyes on him. “It is besides the point, anyways, we have two criseses on our hands that I cannot ignore by sitting in the hospital when you three need my help.” 

“We’ve been doing just fine without you, actually,” she said. “After you left this morning we got a lot done. I think we’ll be okay.” 

He froze. The words landing like a solid punch in the gut. One of many he had received that evening, but this one had managed to hurt the worst of all. Harry had long suspected that this day would come, had hoped that he would have been given more time to prepare for it, but it had always been an inevitability. 

She had seemed to take his sudden silence as a win, continuing on with her explanation of the day’s events but he couldn’t force himself to tune back in until she was saying, “-so I’m telling you that you are staying put.” 

With that, he swallowed, nodding down at his blood stained shirt. After a deep breath, the fabric of the hospital gown scratching at his skin, he gathered his clothing into his arms. He made his way over to where the door to the restroom was, and finally turned to her. 

“Thank you for your concern, Macy, but I’m afraid that you have no authority in the decision. Now if you would please leave me be.” 

He shut the door before she could answer. 

By the time he got dressed and had forced the hospital to release him the sisters were already gone. He had suspected as much, shouldn’t he? They no longer needed him, why would he expect them to see him out? It would seem he had become more emotionally invested in them than they him, and after all that time in thinking that he was more to them than a servant. It had always been there, like a dark cloud. He had just been hoping that he would never live to see the day it began to pour over him, the cold rain drops like a wake up call. 

With what little magic he had been able to recopperated during his time asleep he was able to make it back to his condo, though it took more out of him than a short trip without anyone else to transport should have. 

He showered, changed, made himself a cup of tea, and zoned out thinking of the lastest dream that had been cut short before he had heard the rest of the sentence, but knew how it ended anyways. He thought of how Macy’s skin had felt under his lips. But that had not happened. Not to him, anyways, just the lucky bastard who had proposed to Macy who he hoped to God was appreciating it right now. Knowing himself, he was, and he was sure that anyone that got the opportunity to marry Macy would do more than simply appreciate it. 

As he was thinking this Mel was walking in his front door, cornering him in his kitchen with a glare so severe he feared something in his flat would burst into flames. Namely himself.

“How did you-?” he began only for the Mel to hold of her keyring, a specific key between her fingers with a union jack printed on the rubber cap. “When did you have that made?” 

“After you passed out at the Summer Solstice party and we had to scrape you off the floor.” He made a face, “We need to talk.” 

Harry sighed, but did not argue against the request, knowing it best if he let her fire him as their Whitelighter happen without protest. No matter how much he wished to change her mind. 

“Good! So, I’ve been thinking about it, and Harry-” he braced for impact, fingers tightening around the handle of his cup, “-you’ve been acting like an idiot.”

He blinked. 

Okay, admittedly that was not what he had been expecting. 

“What?” 

“You’ve been reckless recently and it’s seriously making us think you have some kind of death wish. Do you have any idea how worried we were tonight?” She pinned him with one of her looks, pity in her eyes that had him gripping onto the fabric of his sling. 

“I guess not…” she sighed as she trailed off, ducking her head to pinch the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and thumb. “Obviously. You know, after you were finally healing up from your stab wound I thought you’d given up on the martyr act. But then you walked up to that teacher with the gun and now you almost get yourself killed by a homicidal Ogre.”

“Maggie called me to help. You were going to die, there was no choice. I don’t regret my actions.”

“You didn’t have to do it by offering yourself up like some kind of punching bag!” Mel placed her hands on the counter, leaning forward as the fire in her eyes grew brighter at his challenge. “So what’s wrong? First you want to replace yourself as our Whitelighter and all you ever do is put yourself in harm’s way. It’s like you want an out or something.” 

“I was brought back for a reason, and that was to protect witches. Why would I squander that second chance?” 

“You tell me!”

“What else would you have me do?” he asked, knowing he needn’t raise his voice at her but he couldn’t help the emotions she had managed to tear out of him. “You and your sisters are the most important thing in the world to me. It’s not only my duty to protect you but my responsibility as your friend to keep you safe. I do as I see fit to keep you from getting hurt and if my actions result in putting myself at risk, then so be it! The world can survive without me in it but it needs the Power of Three.”

“That’s the Elder’s talking, Harry, not you.” Mel shook her head, eyes rolling up toward the ceiling. “For all their preaching about standing for equality and peace and whatever they sure did an impressive number on demeaning you guys. You come in all cocky and sanctimonious in the beginning but then things hit the fan and you all think you need to take a bullet to fulfill your job description. Even Tessa, who we knew for like a week, took that hit for me.” 

When he said nothing, could say nothing, she broached the barrier of space they had set between themselves, coming around the counter to stand closer to him. Eventually she reached out, a solid hand on his shoulder.

“We don’t think you’re expendable, Harry. Even if you do,” Her eyes bounced back and forth between his as he lifted his head. She nodded to amplify her point to him, show him she was telling the truth. “Believe it or not, we like you.”

He smiled, small as it was, but it was enough to put some warmth back into his friggid chest. She stepped forward, encircling her arms around him in a hug. The contact was welcome, a touch that grounded him with comfort and familiarity. They stayed like that in silence for several more moments before they pulled apart from one another. 

“Alright, now that we’ve got the mushy stuff out of the way, let’s get you a bag packed.” 

“What ever for?” he asked, having to follow Mel as she made a line for his bedroom. 

“You’re staying with us tonight. You heard the doctor, you need to have someone around to make sure you’ll actually wake up.” She kneeled down beside his bed, pulling the suitcase from underneath to set it atop the sheets. 

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I’ll be perfectly fine here.”

“Oh yeah?” she said, nonchalant. “Why don’t you want to come over? What if the big bad Ogre comes back and breaks into our house?”

“As I’ve been told, you three are capable of taking care of yourselves.”

“Is that what Macy said that’s got you acting like this?” Mel snorted, smiling at him when she picked a sweater out of his dresser to toss into the suitcase. “I would have thought it was her telling you to cool it with the love sick routine.” 

Harry opened his mouth with a rebuttal only for her meaning to catch up, slapping him in the face. He stared at her in bemusement, waiting for an explanation. Mel caught his look and rolled her eyes from where she had been tearing through his sock drawer. 

“I figured it out awhile ago.” She flicked her head, a strand of her hair falling away from her face. “And Macy told us about hearing your thoughts when she was explaining the different reality dreams that were bothering her, so it just confirmed my suspicions.”

“She told you?”

“Like I _ said _, I figured it out a long time ago. Subtle you may be, Greenwood, but I’m much more observant than Macy when it comes to stuff like this. I’m just surprised it took you this long to start cracking up.”

“Oh dear,” he sighed, mortified all over again. A warm blush worked its way across his cheeks. “All this time you’ve known and you never said anything?”

“I never had to until now. I had been hoping you two fully grown adults would be able to figure it out on your own,” Mel sighed. Her eyes studied his expression and he swallowed under her stare. “Chill, Harry, I’m not mad.”

“You’re...not?”

“You love her, right?” 

He hesitated to answer, as he had not admitted it aloud since speaking with Maggie on the subject. With Mel it felt awkward, like offering up another point of weakness for her to attack or poke fun at. She lifted her eyebrows expectantly, _ “Right?” _

“Yes,” he said, somewhat tenuously as he wondered what she was setting him up for here.

“Then I’m happy for you.” At his continued state of confusion she shook her head, waving him off. “Look, our jobs are high stakes and we’ve all lost people because of the bad things that have happened. But we can’t live our lives like that, thinking about the bad stuff because there were some great things, too. I loved Niko, and like I said I don’t regret what we had together. I only regret letting people manipulate our relationship. And I’m happy to have been with Jada when I was. She made me see how powerful and capable I really am. She helped me find my confidence again. Both as a witch and as a person. 

“I want what’s best for Macy and if that’s you, then I’m not going to stand in your way. The Elder’s having rules on who people can and can’t love was bullshit anyways.” She took a breath finally. “And you’ve proven yourself to be able to not turn into a complete idiot in stressful situations because of it.” 

That feeling of when a weight had been relieved left him breathless at her words. Permission and acceptance, not ridicule and bullying. He should have known better than to think the Vera sisters would have reacted poorly to his feelings. They weren’t like the Elder’s, they would never punish him simply because he felt. 

“I don’t think your sister agrees with your sentiments.”

“She’s just looking out for you, Harry. We all are.” 

“No. Well, yes, that, too, but I meant in regards to my feelings. Surely you were able to work this out when Macy came to you and Maggie asking to have those dreams of us removed. That is what you intended to use the Addormentarsi ed Vede for, isn’t it?”

Mel nodded, her eyes darting away and he knew there was something else turning the wheels round in her head. “That’s a conversation you and her are going to need to have. I don’t want to speak for her.”

He gave a large sigh, physically deflating as the air emptied out of his lungs, “I doubt that she will want to converse with me any time soon.” 

“Yeah, she’s pretty pissed at you. So while you avoid getting your ass kicked by that Ogre again, you’ll have to watch out for her, too.” She smiled, clapping him on the side of his shoulder a tad too harshly. He grimaced. “But I am serious, Harry. Maggie deemed you family and I’m done losing people. You have to stop doing this. You may have been brought back to protect witches, but that doesn’t mean your life doesn’t hold value. ” 

“I know,” he said, swallowing down the tightness in his throat. “I suppose the Elder’s influence on me has been harder to unlearn than I originally thought.”

“Then we’ll work on undoing it.” She reached forward, taking his free hand in her own and squeezed. “Together.” 

A short time later, filled with him protesting and Mel ignoring him in favor of ordering him around as they gathered his thing, they were back in the Charmed Ones’ attic. He sighed in defeat when she sat him down on the couch that had been prepared with sheets and pillows. 

“Sleep tight.” 

“Goodnight, Melanie.” 

\--

Harry was falling, the sinking feeling no longer one of discomfort. 

  
  


Of course he had noticed her because how could he not? 

Like clockwork she would pass by the window of the shop and like some sort of stalker he would find an excuse to be at the front desk to watch her as she came in and out of view. Sometimes she would stop in front of the door, her eyes looking at their hours of operation. Twice she had stepped in since he had been there, but had always dismissed the offer of help and had never bought anything. 

He had never spoken to her, had never figured out an excuse to do so. 

Today, though, he figured she would not be by. A thunderstorm raged on, rain falling hard and fast, the wind forcing it to fall at a slant. There was no one walking, barely any cars dared to venture onto the roads. Still, when the time came, Harry looked up from his book at the counter. 

And there she was.

With nothing but a light hoodie to keep the rain from soaking her and the bookbag she was hunched over, hugging to her chest in order to preserve whatever was inside. 

He didn’t think, only moved. Around the counter, back to where his things were, and out the front door. 

_ “Excuse me!” _he called, opening the umbrella as he jogged after her. She turned, eyebrows drawn when he approached. Harry smiled once he was able to hold the canopy over her head, blocking out the water. He then gestured with it, indicating that she take it. 

_ “Are-are you serious?” _she asked, eyes flickering between the handle and his face in skepticism. 

_ “You need it more than I.” _ He nodded to it once more, moving it closer for her. _ “Please, I insist.” _

Finally she reached up, fingers brushing over his as he transferred it over to her possession. A smile graced her features,_ “Thank you.” _

He nodded and they both turned to go their separate ways. 

_ “I’ll make sure this gets back to you!” _ her voice rang out above the rhythm of the rain, making him turn to catch her looking back at him. _ “What’s your name?” _

_ “Harry,” _ he called back. _ “Harry Greenwood! And you are?” _

_ “I’m-” _

  
  


The following morning he had gotten up to make breakfast for his Charges, like always. The sun came up to greet him at the window over the sink. Mel and Maggie joined him, too, grumbling about how he shouldn’t have been up and about so soon. But they came in threes and the knots were building up in his stomach as he waited for Macy to make her appearance. He knew he would need to apologize to her, he just didn’t know what her reaction to him would be. 

A knock at the door would ensure he wouldn’t get the chance to find out. 

Harry set down the pot of coffee, waving off both Mel and Maggie from where they had started to get up from their seats, and traveled across the foyer to answer it. 

“Mr. Fielding,” he said when he saw who was standing on the front porch. 

“Hey! Harvey, right?”

“Harry.”

“Oh. Of course. Harry. My bad.” 

“It’s quite alright.” A beat. “May I ask why you’re here?”

“Yeah, I’m here to see-”

“Hey, Trevor!” Harry turned to watch as Macy descended the stairs, her smile wide and happy as she came to stand beside him at the door, peering up at Mr. Fielding. “You got the-?”

“Sure do,” Mr. Fielding said, holding up a brown bag. “You ready? We need to get going before Viktor gives away our spot.” 

“Yeah, of course!” She reached over to the coat rack to grab her umber trench coat and wrap a scarf around her neck. Not so much as giving Harry a glance she walked out the door, side by side with Mr. Fielding down the front steps. 

Harry watched them as they went, how the distance between them closed as Mr. Fielding bumped his shoulder into Macy’s. His stomach sank as he suddenly felt like an intruder. He shut the door and returned to the kitchen. 

The next few days followed the same worrying pattern. 

Macy did not ignore him.

It was just that she only spoke to him when they absolutely had to interact. Speaking as a team over what the next course of action was to get to the bottom of the murders, when she was in need of help translating a spell that only he could provide answers for, when he was standing in front of the refrigerator and she needed him to move. All their conversations were short and to the point. 

Mr. Fielding was a frequent visitor at the house and often the name that Macy would give to her sisters when asked where she was going or where she had been and while it stung, he knew what had been coming for some time.

When he had finally convinced Maggie and Mel that he was doing fine they allowed him to return to his condo, and he knew that they were giving him the small mercy to get away from having to witness the beginnings of Macy and Mr. Fielding’s relationship.

There had been a lull on information for the attacks, the patrons of Hilltowne having finally gotten the message to cease entering the forest while something dangerous lurked among the trees. The Ogres was beginning to grow restless, though, constantly asking the Charmed Ones when the culprit was going to be brought to light. 

They had also not heard from Ishara in several days but the dreams continued on. A bakery in the winter, a forgotten book on a bus seat, soft whispers, discarded clothing, and arguments over what directions to follow were a constant reminder of the hole in the universe that had yet to be amended. Without the Goddess to give them an update, though, he reasoned that there was nothing they could do. It was best they focused on the thing they could bring to an end and resolve to fix the universe at a later date. 

It had been quiet that Saturday morning after breakfast, with Mel off to work and Macy having been out with her colleagues, and of course Mr. Fielding. He was sat in the living room opposite Maggie, helping her go through a reading she’d been struggling with when the sound of glass breaking made the both of them freeze. 

“Stay here,” he informed her, crossing into the dining room to round the corner into the sun room. On the floor, half on the stairs, was the body of the Ogre that they had encountered earlier that week. Maggie, who had not done as he had instructed, shrieked in Harry’s ear when she peeked over his shoulder at what had caused the disturbance. 

The Ogre did not move. Harry inched forward until he stood over the body, giving their shoulder a nudge with the toe of his shoe. Again, the Ogre didn’t stir. He stepped down the stairs and crouched down to inspect them. 

The Ogre’s eyelids flew up, its hand reaching out to grab him by the collar. “Get out! Need get out!” 

“Harry!” Maggie cried, running over to them and grabbing hold of the Ogre’s arm that had hold of Harry’s shirt. She gasped in surprise, her eyes widening down at the Ogre who cried out in anguish. They released him, instead rolling over onto their side and reaching around to get at their back with both hands. Their claws dug into their skin, blood spilling into their tattered shirt.

“What? Get what out?” he insisted. 

“There’s something in his back. It’s hurting him,” Maggie communicated for the Ogre, shaking her head as she looked up at Harry, helpless. 

They could only watch on in shock as more blood poured from the self inflicted wound, until finally the Ogre pulled something out from under the skin. It was round and metal, about the size of a small saucer, trailing behind it a long tube that made Harry’s stomach lurch to watch as it just kept coming. They went limp after, sighing in relief. 

“Sorry,” they said, voice far weaker than before and as Harry found their eyes he could see the pain behind them, humanity finding its way back in. “So sorry. I tried not to. I- sorry, so sorry.” 

The Ogre panted and then heaved a sigh, their eyes closing as they fell back, unmoving, to the floor. Maggie let out a choked sob, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. 

Harry leaned forward, unable to hear breath coming from their mouth anymore, and then tried searching for a pulse, but there was none to be found. 

“He’s dead,” he said, falling back on his heels. He frowned as the Ogre’s body began to change. The claws receded, tusks shrinking back to regular canines inside his mouth, and skin turning back from green to tan and freckled. 

“We need to call Natasha,” Maggie whispered, her eyes on the Ogre’s body full of fear and sorrow. “She would- she would want to know. We...we need to...”

Harry stood, bending down to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her away from the scene. He guided her back into the living room until she was seated on the couch, “You can call your sisters and Mrs. Dreher. I’ll clean up.”

She nodded, eyebrows furrowing as she scrambled to get her phone from her pocket. When she had managed to get Mel on the phone Harry returned to the Ogre. 

The Drehers arrived shortly after Mel and Macy had returned home. They explained what had happened, Harry leading them into the shed where he had covered the body in a tarp. 

“Lewis,” Mr. Dreher breathed. Beside him Mrs. Dreher clutched a hand to her chest as she looked over the face of the fallen Ogre. 

“You knew him?”

“He’s one of mine. His family has been with us for years now, I don’t understand how...” Mrs. Dreher shook her head, looking up at them in desperation. “What happened to him?”

“That was in his back,” Maggie pointed to where Harry had placed the device into a plastic bag beside the body. Macy walked over to pick it up, turning the bag this way and that as she examined it. “It was hurting him. Really badly. He was in so much pain, all I could get was confusion and hurt. I don’t know what it is, but I...I don’t think Lewis wanted to kill those people, Natasha. When he attacked us the other night he kept saying the same thing-”

_ “Get out,” _ Mel nodded. “We thought he was threatening us.”

“I think this is an intrathecal pump,” Macy said. Then quickly after for clarification, “It’s sometimes used for pain medication. They’ll implant it in the body and put the tubing right into your spinal cord. It makes it easier for the medication to get to the source of pain, and it reduces the amount needed since it’s going directly into the cerebrospinal fluid rather than taking its time to go through your digestive system.”

“Do you think you can find out what was being pumped into him?” Mel asked and Macy hummed. 

“Maybe, so long as there’s still some left in it I should be able to identify it.” She looked up to Mrs. Dreher, “Did you know if Lewis had any major injuries that he would need medication for?” 

“No, but...but his wife came to speak with us a few weeks ago,” Mrs. Dreher said, sharing a look with her husband as if they were realizing something together. “She said Lewis had been talking about seeing some sort of specialist for our types.”

“Types?”

“Magical beings,” Mr. Dreher supplied. “Being an Ogre, there’s always this side of us that is going to be rooted to our primal instincts. Territorial, protective, aggressive. We have to fight everyday to ensure that we don’t allow that part of us to take over and turn us back to the days of old. Some people think they can make a profit off of that.” 

He sighed, bringing a hand up to his mouth as he looked down at the body of the man. “Lewis always said there had to be a better way. His wife came to us and said he thought he’d found it.”

They all stood in silence for a long moment before Natasha knelt down to run a hand over Lewis’ hair, soft sounds of despair leaving her. “Can we take him home? We need to bury him. Properly.” 

They gave no objections, only helped to carry Lewis to their car so his body could be transported back to the clans territory. Mel and Maggie followed after them, wanting to ask his wife more questions to see if they could get a name of the person Lewis had been going to see. And that left Harry with Macy to orb her back to the lab.

He allowed her to work without interruption, sitting idly by as she prepared the equipment and got the samples from the pump. Continuing to watch as she went through her work methodically, using her magic freely to assist her as he was the only one there to witness. 

She spared him a glance an hour and a half into her tests. “This is going to take a while. You can go home, I’ll text the group chat when I’ve got something here.” 

“That’s alright, I don’t mind,” he replied, already having gotten comfortable in his chair. Macy huffed but said nothing else. Harry stood a second later because, right, he may not have minded but she did. “Sorry. Yes. No, I’m doing as I’m told. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

Just as he was about to orb Macy spun her chair around to look at him through her safety goggles, eyes squinted in bemusement. “Doing as your told? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, I simply meant that-”

“I’m not ordering you to leave, Harry. I was only saying-”

“I didn’t mean to imply-”

“You can do whatever you want-”

“I’m only trying to-”

“I don’t care what you do!” Macy said, her voice rising above his. He swallowed at the sight of her anger directed at him, and then lowered his head, unable to face it any longer. 

“Yes, so I’ve noticed.” He took in a breath, and then another. Finally he picked his head up with a carefully placed smile to mask how stung he truly felt. “Forgive me. I’ll go.” 

“Harry, wait-”

“No. You’ve no need to apologize,” he held up a hand to stop her. “It would seem I’ve no idea how to speak to you anymore without angering you. And I do not blame you for still being upset with me for the way I spoke to you in the hospital. Please, I want to repair the damage I’ve done to your trust in me. How can I make this up to you?”

“Harry,” Macy reached up to pull her goggles from her face, setting them down on the table behind her so she could stand to cross the lab floor to stand in front of him. “Just because I’m mad at you doesn’t mean I don’t trust you anymore. They aren’t mutually exclusive.” 

“Perhaps not, but-”

“Do you even know _ why _ I’m mad at you?” 

“I’ve become incompetent at my job,” he said with confidence. A confidence that quickly diminished at the unimpressed look Macy gave him. “But...you’ve said it yourself, Macy, you three don’t need me anymore because of what I’ve become.” 

“No, god, Harry I didn’t-” His eyes flickered down to where her hands that moved toward him, only to stop and ball into fists, pulling back to her person. Like she was trying to hold herself back. After a short pause she started again, “I never thought you weren’t capable of doing your job. I’m sorry I ever gave you that impression. I mean, yes, you do drive me crazy sometimes and I may be a little hard on you but it’s just that whenever I talk to you when I’m frustrated and worried, everything always comes out wrong.”

He let out an airy laugh, nodding. Yes, he knew exactly what she meant. 

“I’m not mad at you for doing your job, I’m mad because you think that just because you’re a Whitelighter that somehow means you don’t have any value,” she said. “We can’t afford to lose you.” 

He sucked in a sharp breath at those words, flinching at the memory of her voice closer to his ear when she had said it in a world not their own. Harry looked up in time to see Macy slot the last piece of the puzzle into place. She opened her mouth, but was cut off by the ringing of her cell phone. With a frown and a look that told him this conversation was not over, she dug her phone out of her pocket. 

“It’s Mel.” She set it on the table beside them, pressing the speaker button, “Hello?”

“Another Ogre was found dead in her house when we got there.”

“What?” 

“Stacy Johannes. Everyone said she just wouldn’t come out of it and tried to attack others.” Mel sighed, “Her friends all said that she was going to see the same guy as Lewis was, saying that she told them she had been cured.”

“She was in full Ogre mode when she died?”

“Yeah. And she had the same pump thing in her back, we saw the incision mark after she died. Whatever this guy is giving his patients it’s no cure.” 

“No, it sounds like instead of controlling their self it’s making them highly unstable and suspending them in that state, unable to decide for themselves who they wish to be,” Harry said. “Did you get the name of the therapist?”

“Dr. Havensport. Lewis and Stacy had been going to him ever since they got into town. Lewis’s wife said that he’s the go to guy for the Magical Community in this area for therapy since he’s the only one with a license who they can talk to about this stuff. Apparently he’s some kind of Satori?” 

“Oh dear.” 

“Oh dear?” Macy parroted, “Why oh dear? That doesn’t sound like a good oh dear.”

“Is there any other kind with him?” Mel scoffed over the line.

“They are magical beings who have been said to be able to read minds. I imagine they’ve been given a bad name due to their nature, but that was only because of their intimidating exterior. Really, they held no physical threat to humans and other beings.” 

“I sense there’s a but coming in 3, 2…”

“_ But,” _ he glared at Macy when she smiled in satisfaction, “-they are a threat mentally. There are stories that have stated that if a Satori uses their abilities for evil it can turn them into a highly dangerous foe. Projecting your will onto other people’s minds and taking away their ability to choose is a form of the darkest magic.”

“So, not good,” Mel said after a long moment of silence. “Did you figure out what was in the drug pump?”

“From the tests I’ve been able to run, all I’ve been able to identify is some herbs and spices, but nothing illegal or strictly pharmaceutical.” Macy glanced over to her equipment, “We might have to use some sort of spell to identify if there’s anything magical going on.” 

“But we have the guy’s name, his address, we can put an end to this right now.” 

“Melanie, we can not go storming in when we don’t know what we’re up against,” he said, sharing a glance of worry with Macy. “If this fraud is as dangerous as I believe he can be then we will need to-”

“Seven people have died, Harry. We need to know if there’s anyone else in Hilltowne who has one of those pumps in their backs before that turns into eight. Maggie and I are going there now, we’ll text you the address.”

“Mel-” Macy tried but her sister had already hung up. They both gave a sigh of frustration. 

\--

The therapist's home, as it had also served as his office, was remote. The nearest house was about a mile down the road so when Harry orbed himself and Macy there he didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing them. Maggie and Mel had waited for them, thankfully, but were out of the car as soon as they had eyes on one another.

“This is far too dangerous,” Harry insisted as Mel pushed passed him and Macy to get to the front door. 

“So is letting him put drugs in people that take away their free will so they kill people,” Mel shot back. She banged her hand against the wooden door. “Havensport!” 

He and the other two sisters stood back as she continued to pound on the door, wincing as Mel became more aggressive with her knocking and yelling for the owner of the house. Finally a man opened the door, looking wild eyed and frenzied.

“I don’t know who you are but you need to leave,” he said, already pushing the door shut again, “now.”

“We’re not going anywhere.” Mel put her foot in the door and used the other one to force it open. The man, who Harry assumed to be Dr. Havensport, stumbled back into his house as the Charmed Ones entered. “You have a lot to answer for and we are not letting you get away with any of it. What you’ve done is irresponsible and is-”

“-a threat to the Magical Community,” Havensport finished. Harry’s chest tightened as it would seem that the Satori was already worming his way into her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have any time to discuss this with you. Now if you would please leave.” 

“People are dead because of you,” Mel insisted, anger no longer simmering but at a boiling point. 

“I tried to help them. They were struggling. They didn’t want to be what they were, it was making their lives difficult, so I gave them something to suppress that side of them.” His eyes suddenly turned from Mel’s to Macy’s, he stepped forward. “Surely you must relate to that. That inner darkness is inside of you begging to be let out, isn’t it? Everyday, every minute, every second you breath. Surely you’d want something to put an end to that fight, too.” 

“We all have those issues.” Macy glanced at Harry briefly before returning to the Doctor, her chin tilted upwards in defiance. “But it is our actions, not our nature, that defines us. It’s apart of me and it’s hard to deal with, but I would never give up my ability to choose who I am and who I want to be.”

“Even if it meant being free of it?”

“Not if it makes you go insane and kill people!” Maggie cried. “Lewis never wanted to hurt anybody! You took that away from him when you shoved that-that thing into him! They trusted you to help and you betrayed them.” 

“The mixture works. My efforts will be successful for the whole of the Magical Community, all of those that wish to live as human beings will be granted their wish. But in order to get my current patients what they needed I had to forgo any testing.”

“So what? You thought testing it out on them would be better?” Macy gave a sound of disgust, shaking her head. “You are responsible for seven deaths. How many others did you put those things in?”

The man growled, low into his chest cavity before returning back to his normal state. “Only one other.” 

“Girls,” Harry whispered, a warning.

“Where are they?” Mel asked. Harry caught the flicker of yellow Havensport’s eyes.

“Girls,” he tried again, louder this time.

“We want a name,” Macy said next. 

“Girls!” The three sisters turned to him and he raised his eyebrows, inclining his head to indicate back to the man he had not taken his eyes off of. “I believe we’re looking at the next victim.” 

Slowly, they turned back around. 

Dr. Havensport was panting now, chest heaving as he began to change. His hair grew significantly, more breaking out over his skin that became more like a thick fur. Once rounded ears became pointed at the ends, getting large enough to stick out. And his eyes, now yellow, were wide and unblinking. 

“We need to leave,” Harry said slowly. “Right now.”

Before anyone could move Havensport looked directly at Mel, tilting his head. And then Mel mirrored his movement. She nodded once and then all hell broke loose. She was on Macy in an instant, tackling her to the ground with a shoulder to the gut and her arms wrapped around her middle. They fell to the floor and Harry would have gone to Macy’s aid had Maggie not been tossed to the floor by the Satori. 

Havensport stood over her, hands wrapped around her head as Maggie struggled against him, crying out and slapping at him. Harry, still with only one good arm used it to pull Havensport off of her.

His first mistake was looking down into the eyes of the Satori. 

\--

When he came to, his mind no longer consumed with thoughts that were not his own in a voice that had been highly persuasive, Maggie was standing in front of him blinking her wide eyes up at him. He could hear her voice inside his head, bright and clear, like a light on the foggy waters guiding him home.

“Harry?” she said aloud. “You there?” 

“Yes, yes I…” he touched a hand to his temple at the sudden burst of pain behind his eyes. “What happened? Is everyone alright?” 

“We’re fine.” Harry turned to find a very put out looking Mel sitting in a chair, hunched over herself. She had a split lip with a hint of blood on her skin and her hair was tousled, other than that she showed no signs of injury. “If it hadn’t been for Maggie we would have torn one another apart.”

He looked back at Maggie who smiled sheepishly, looking down as she walked back over to put a hand on Mel’s shoulder. 

“Let’s just say if we were keeping score it would be Empath 1 and Telepath 0.” She paused, then grinned, “And we are totally keeping score.” 

“Where is he now? And where’s-?” He looked up to the front doorway that had been left open when he saw movement. Macy had come jogging through, stopping when she set eyes on him. Relief seemed to wash over her, the tension being released from her body as she crossed the distance between them to wrap her arms around him in a fierce hug. 

“Harry! You’re back!” And he could feel her press into him that much closer, her arms only getting tighter once they were around him. His arm, having come loose from his sling, and shoulder flared in pain from being squeezed but he made no indication of it, only used his good arm to pull her closer to him. His hand splayed flat over her back, chin hooked over her shoulder. He closed his eyes and breathed her in, allowed her warmth to soak into him at every point of contact. 

“Are you okay?” She pulled away, holding him at arm’s length as she looked him over, “Your shoulder, where’s-?” 

“I um-” he reached up, crossing his arm over his middle to hold his shoulder in place as he looked around their surrounding area. They were still in the entrance way to Dr. Havensport’s home, but it was considerably less put together than it had been when they first entered. There was broken glass on the floor, holes in the drywall, and the wooden table to the left was now broken and splintering. Whatever had transpired here had been one of great violence. “I don’t know. I must have lost it when...” 

“It’s over here. You tried to use it to choke Mel out.” Maggie walked over to where the sling had been discarded in the living room which looked as equally destroyed as the room they were standing in. She picked it up and brought it over to Harry, smiling brightly. “If it hadn’t been super terrifying and totally scary I would have had my bets on you, Harry.”

“Hey!” Mel protested.

“What? Har’s got some moves!” 

“Here, let me,” Macy took the brace before Harry could obtain it from Maggie’s grasp. He swallowed thickly, but nodded, not knowing what it was that had mended the divide between them but unwilling to allow his mouth to make a mess of this again. She stepped closer as she loosened the bindings, stretching them out to where it would fit over his head and under his arm without him having to make large movements. She held his wrist as he slipped it through the sling portion of the brace. 

Macy reached up to fix the strap on his neck, unwinding it to lay flat, her fingers brushing at the skin just above his collar. He could feel the warm blush making its way upward from his neck to his cheeks at the contact, a knot forming in his throat as she came even closer to pull the bindings tighter. 

His gut twisted uncomfortably as he remembered that this was not his to enjoy. Macy’s affections belonged to another now. Mr. Fielding would probably not take kindly to Harry staring at Macy in the way he knew himself to be at the moment. He averted his eyes in an instant, allowing himself to focus on his arm as she placed the velcro straps into place. 

“Feel good? Too tight? Too loose?” she asked, looking over the brace and then up to his face for confirmation. He swallowed again in an effort against his too dry mouth.

“Uh, no, no, that’s perfect. Thank you.” 

She smiled at him and then stepped away. When she turned back to her sisters she let out a large sigh, “Well! I caught up with Havensport. He’s tied up to a tree out back and he’s really out of it. Maggie, remind me never to make you angry ever again.”

“Awh, thanks Mace,” Maggie smiled, opening her arms as she enveloped her sister in a hug. “I’m just happy he can’t hurt anyone anymore. His thoughts were seriously wacked out.”

“Yes, what did you do, Maggie?” he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. The two sisters pulled apart and Maggie glanced around to her audience. She shrugged.

“I...don’t know? It was really weird, but when he tried to do his Jedi mind tricks on me it didn’t work. I could hear him in my head but he didn’t really have the same influence as he did on, well, you guys. So then he got closer and touched me I was able to fight back. Mentally, I mean. It was like we were in my mind and he was trying to use all my own thoughts against me but then I finally just...slammed the door on him. But I guess I slammed it a little too hard because now he’s stuck in his own head.” 

“Good,” Mel stood from her seat, walking over to join the three of them with a proud smile on her face. “Now he can never hurt anybody but himself. Being trapped with your own thoughts? Not something someone like him is going to appreciate.” 

They alerted the authorities to Havensport soon after, having no way of incarcerating the man themselves they allowed the human police to do the rest. Afterwards they had all gone to tell the clan that they had brought the monster behind the killings to justice and Mrs. Dreher had insisted that they stay for dinner to celebrate and to remember those who were lost to them now. Obliging, they remained at her house until long after the sun had set. 

Returning home had been a relief, a sight for sore eyes as they all bid one another good night and went their separate ways to prepare for bed. Macy stopped him after both Mel and Maggie had disappeared up the stairs.

“Harry-” and the sound of her voice, the remorse of it made whatever wall he still had left up fall to pieces underneath it. He was tired of the distance and barriers as all it did was create misunderstandings. Transparency, he had learned from the three sisters, was always the best road to take when it came to matters of trust.

He held up a hand. “I’ve...been unable to communicate with you properly for what feels like weeks, now, and have not handled it as I should. Please, do not take this as an excuse, but rather an explanation for my behavior. 

“I have been under the orders of the Elders for...years. Longer than I had even been alive as a human. I have no been, as Maggie put it, _ free _since I have been brought back. Even my...relationship with Elder Callahan, it seemed to serve her another purpose whereas I had thought- well, anyways. The point I’m trying to get across here is that my actions, while self sacrificing as you and your sisters perceive them to be, were how I was instructed to act should my Charges ever be in danger. It is my job to protect witches and there is no nobler death than one in service to your charges, so you must understand that when I put myself in harm’s way it is because that is what I have been brought back to do.” 

Harry paused, then shrugged, “Or, at least, that is what I have been told, and it may take me some time to unlearn what the Elder’s have taught me. So, if you will accept my apology for my harsh words and actions-”

He was cut off when Macy pulled him into a hug, tight and comforting as her fingers curled into his shoulder. It took him a moment, breath escaping him, before he had his arm tentatively wrapping around her in return. 

“I’m sorry, too,” she said, pulling away to meet his gaze. “So, from now on we’re just going to have to remind you that you’re not a body shield, and you’re going to have to remember not to take every hit. Deal?” 

He smiled, nodding, “Deal.” 

They shook on it, and she disappeared up the stairs. Harry orbed back to his condo and just about passed out on his bed. His mind may not have remembered the fight that had taken place that day, but his body definitely did.

\--

The next days’ silence was much needed and he was thankful to watch as his Charges were able to get some rest, finally. It was deserved as they had worked tirelessly to bring the person behind the attacks to light. For the next week they were allowed peace to go about their lives. Attending to school work, seeing their friends, and going to bed at a decent hour. 

That weekend the three girls all had plans, to which he was happy to hear. Mel had been invited out to drinks with a group of witches who she had recently been making acquaintances with since having helped one of them find her Familiar last month. Maggie was having a sleepover with her sorority, having asked his opinion on her pajamas before leaving the house in a fit of excited squee’s with Lucy. And Macy had gone out with her colleagues, a Maria Lancaster having knocked on the door to pick her up on the way to get Viktor. 

He would have just gone back to his condo had it not been for Ishara telling him to meet her at the Charmed Ones house earlier that day. She had sent an email, which had been rather surprising, but he had replied that he would be waiting. And he stuck to his word, having made a pot of tea and sat down at the kitchen table to work on getting caught up on his research for the University. 

So, when the back door from the sun room opened after having just been repaired from where Lewis had destroyed it, he was not expecting Trevor Fielding to be the person walking in. When their eyes met the Ogre looked like a deer caught in the headlights, guilt written all over his demeanor. 

“Mr. Fielding,” he acknowledged, not allowing it to sound like a greeting. “What do you think you’re doing?” 

“Uh...I was just...uhm, coming to return something! Macy said to...come in through the back.” 

“Oh.” He nodded, pretending to play along to the blatant lie for a moment. Harry used the heel of his hand to push himself back from the table and stood. “What is it?”

“What?”

“You said you’re returning something.” Harry gestured to the man’s empty hands. “Where is it?”

“I was…you know I uh...” the Ogre glanced around himself, mouth open on awkward syllables as he searched for an excuse.

“Mr. Fielding,” he said, capturing his attention. He felt angry, protective, but most of all devastated for Macy. If this was the man who she had chosen to give over her heart to after having had to watch it heal for months now he didn’t know how to protect her from such a betrayal of trust. “Does she even know you’re here?” 

“No.” Mr. Fielding sighed, stepping up the stairs until he too was standing in the kitchen. He shrugged his large shoulders, tossing his hands up. “Look, you got me, man. I’m not here for Macy.” 

He saw the exact moment the Ogre’s demeanor shifted. His shoulders, usually so lax, went as rigid as the smile plastered on his face. He continued forward, his long legs only needing a few steps before he was standing over Harry. One of those large hands shooting out to wrap around Harry’s neck and squeezed, “I’m here for you, Whitelighter.” 

Harry wanted to orb. Anywhere, anywhere but there, but he knew that with the grip Fielding had on him he would only be taking the Ogre with him. He used his good hand to claw at the hand cutting off his air, but the skin there had turned green and thick, making it more hurtful to himself than Fielding who only chuckled darkly at his attempts to fight back. 

There was nothing he could do, he realized as his vision began to darken. Helpless, once again. He could only watch as the Ogre produced a vial from his pocket, the substance within black and thick like tar. He used his thumb to pop the cap off, allowing it to clink against the floor below as he forced the opening into Harry’s mouth. 

It poured down his throat, tasting vile and choking him more effectively than the hand around his throat. He could feel it coating everything, his tongue, teeth, gums, esophagus, expanding in his stomach until it was consuming him from the inside. Fielding released him, allowing him to drop to the floor to hack and spit out what he could, hand coming up to soothe the pain he felt at his neck. 

As soon as he had his head about him he tried to orb, thinking of the alley behind the Haunt so he could find Mel, to warn her to tell Macy and Maggie not to return home. He opened his eyes he found himself still on the floor of the kitchen. He tried again and again and again, but he remained in place. 

“Don’t bother,” Fielding said. “You’re not going anywhere.” 

Harry peered up at the Ogre, coughing violently again. He pushed himself to his feet, his legs shaky beneath him. His limbs had not been bound so he intended to walk out of there, to find his Charges. When he tried, his vision blurred, head spinning. He stumbled, having to catch himself on the counter.

Fielding laughed. “Like I said, don’t bother.”

“How is it that an Ogre,” Harry ground out, trying to haul himself to his feet but only feeling like his weight was getting heavier and heavier, “can perform magic?”

“We can’t, but Demons, can.” Fielding came to stand just outside the circle, crossing his arms over his chest as he smiled down at Harry. “And they’ll do anything for the right price. Especially if it means hurting the Charmed Ones.” 

“That I very much doubt. If I’m gone they’ll only need to replace me with another Whitelighter,” he said, his hold on the counter slipping. He fell back to the ground, slumping against the cabinets as his breathing began to slow, “Why would you want to hurt them? They’ve proven to be your allies. And Macy-”

“I don’t want to hurt them, Whitelighter. I want to hurt _ you _, the only thing standing between me and claiming Partnerwahl.” 

Harry opened his mouth, but could not think of an answer, too stunned. As far as he was aware Partnerwahl was indisputable if given the blessing of the clan’s council. It was an ancient and barbaric claim, one that was so outdated he would have thought it to be written out of the charter of the clans by now. 

“With Macy.” He shook his head, trying to make sense of it as his head swam, “But she’s a witch, you...you can’t make the claim on someone outside of your own species.” 

“She may be a witch,” Fielding said, “but she is a Charmed One. If we were to have them within our family we would have unimaginable power in our favor. The council would see this and agree to it and for that I need you out of the way.” 

“But Macy likes you, I-I’m sure if you brought up the union to her she would-...would greatly consider it. What have I got to do with it?”

“You love her,” he said, so short, so callous that it made it seem like it was nothing. A simple piece of information and not anything more. “That proves a threat to me and the claim. You could counteract and that would not do.”

“I wouldn’t have. Not if you had made Macy...made Macy happy,” He wished that whatever poison was inside of him would pause in its efforts, if only for him to get his hands on Fielding for talking about Macy like this. Like she was property, like he had some sort of right to her with his archaic way of thinking. “And if..if you truly loved her, you wouldn’t have done this.” 

“I’m fighting for her. Unlike you, Whitelighter,” he spit. “Rolling over like a mutt, too weak to protect her. She’ll understand, once your influence is gone, what she really needs in a mate.” 

“She is a Charmed One, she can protect herself.” Harry clenched his jaw. 

“All the more reason to be rid of you.” 

“Her sisters will n-never let this happen.”

“Then I will be rid of them, too.”

Harry scoffed, then had to hack up more of the black goo before he could speak again, “You think killing a-a Whitelighter makes you strong enough to kill a Charmed One, let alone two? Do you really...really believe Macy will love you after you’ve killed her sisters?” 

“She will have no choice after I have made the claim.” Fielding smiled and took a step back. Then another, and another until he was turning, “Sleep tight Whitelighter.” 

\--

It started out the same as it always did. 

Harry was falling. 

  
  


Fiona elbowed him painfully in the ribs and while he glared at her, it did bring his attention back to the malware virus that was in the middle of trying to shut down the computer’s system.

She snorted at him when she realized where he had been looking, _ “Why don’t you just, oh, I don’t know, talk to her?” _

_ “Who?” _ he asked, failing his attempt at sounding nonchalant. 

_ “Don’t play stupid, Greenwood, I barely tollerate your existance as it is.” _ She pointed her finger to the woman who Harry had been periodically staring at ever since they had entered the room. 

He wanted to tell her he had no idea what she was going on about, that she didn’t even need to be up here since this was not a two person job, but instead he caved, _ “I can’t.” _

_ “Why not?” _

_ “What am I supposed to say?” _ he glanced up over the monitor, the woman crossing the room to grab something from a cabinet and bring it back over to her work station. _ “Why hello, Ms. Vaughn, I’m Harry, I work in the basement and happen to be the man who answers the phone when you call every other day asking after your printer.” _

She snorted, leaning back in her chair to smile in amusement at him,_ “Haven’t you ever done this before?” _

_ “Fiona, please, you know that I have,” _ he sighed, having to use the backspace several times over. _ “You also know how bad I am at that whole thing, so if you could please cease with this conversation. I have no intention of making a fool of myself.” _

_ “Oh, you’re not that bad. I mean, working in a basement where most of your human interaction is with me or over the phone and computer hasn’t exactly helped you come out of your shell, but you’re not all that bad.” _

_ “What’s the manufacturing number?” _ Harry asked, no longer wanting to participate in the conversation. Fiona seemed to take the hint and remained quiet as he worked. It wasn’t until the computer had been cleansed of its virus that Harry looked up to realize that she was no longer seated beside him. 

He searched the room and had to do a double take when he saw her speaking with Macy Vaughn 

_ “Oh dear god,” _ he whispered to himself. Quickly he began to gather their things, unattaching wires and shoving it all back into his backpack. Harry had been about to book it, to get off scot-free, homeward bound for the hall to the elevator that would carry him back to the safety of his basement. 

_ “Harry!” _ Fiona called out and he had a serious debate with himself as to whether or not he should ignore her. _ “Yeah, you in the ugly Christmas sweater?” _

Damn him and his inability to resist the holiday splendor. 

Harry turned, feigning surprise when he saw Fiona waving him over to where she and the woman were standing. He swallowed thickly and crossed the distance.

_ “Sorry! When I didn’t see you sitting there I’d thought you’d gone back down,” _ he told Fiona, who gives him a look that lets him know that she did not believe him for a second, and then turned to Macy, who was staring at him with a look of disbelief.

_ “It is you!” _ she said, her face breaking into a grin as she laughed. _ “You are so not what I expected.” _

_ “Oh?” _ He raised his eyebrows, terrified to ask, _ “And how did you imagine me, Ms. Vaughn?” _

_ “Wire frame glasses? Thicker in the middle, salt and pepper hair...maybe one of those newsie hats?” _ She smiled, then gestured to his clothing, _ “And a lot more tweed.” _

_ “Don’t let this-” _ Fiona made a circular motion in order to encapsulate Harry’s choice of clothing, _ “-fool you. He is an old man who wears plenty of tweed underneath the doe eyes.” _

_ “Oi, tweed is very moisture resistant and durable,” _ he said at his defense. It earned him a giggle from Macy and, oh, it sounded so much better in person. He wanted to hear it again, immediately. Her eyes flickered over him and then she was holding out her hand. 

_ “It’s nice to finally meet you, too, Harry.” _

He took her hand, their palms meeting in the middle and-

  
  


His fingers grazed the letters on the page, scared to smudge them even though the ink had long dried. They made his throat ache, made something inside of his chest fill with something that he never thought he would get to experience. 

It felt like something only described in books, what authors and poets could only hope to describe between their pages. 

At the bottom of the one held in his hand she signed it, _ Yours, Macy _and it was enough. It had to be enough.

  
  


_ “The numbers don’t lie!” _ he yelled at her, heated. 

_ “I know it hurts to be wrong, Harry-” _

_ “I am not wrong-” _

_ “-but the evidence is right here, you’re going to have to-” _

_ “-you are simply not listening to what I’ve been saying-” _

_ “-don’t pretend like you haven’t-” _

_ “-I know I am right-” _

And their voices become indistinct, overlapping and unrelenting to give the other room to get their point across. The argument was methodical, proven in how effortless it was to fall into the rhythm of it by the two of them. 

It was half past one in the bloody morning and Harry had finished his reports three hours ago, but then Vaughn had gone on one of her side winding theories and he knew that if he left she would have stayed in their lab all night trying to talk herself through it with no one else to bounce her insane ideas off of. 

Of course it fell in to them bickering. They had been working alongside the other for years, had known one another for longer, and they had always argued. But there was always something underneath it. A tender fondness, an admiration that neither would willing say aloud. 

It never mattered what she called him, what she yelled or hissed, what she threw across the room with the target being his head, because she would always be there. For all the angry disagreements and spiteful actions they’ve pulled on one another, he had grown to be comfortable in it, to know it as the place he belonged. Even if it was maddening. 

_ “Admit it! We need answers and that girl is the only one who is ever going to be able to give it to us. You saw her, I know you did. The evidence is irrefutable. But for whatever reason they’re trying to gaslight us into thinking that what we saw was-was-...what? Some kind of swamp gas? Maybe that can work for some civilian, but us? Harry! This could be the answer to our prayers, and if we could just talk to her...ask her a few questions…” _

His stomach sank as her voice trailed off, getting a bad feeling for the direction this conversation had suddenly taken a turn for.

_ “Do not even think about it,” _ Harry scolded. 

_ “What? I didn’t even say anything!” _

_ “You didn’t need to say anything, I know how that brain of yours works and although you may possess a high IQ you never seem to be able to use all of it so I’m here to be the rational one and tell you, _ don’t. _ ” _

She narrowed her eyes at him, _ “Harry, are you...scared?” _

_ “Of course I’m scared, Dr. Vaughn,” _ he laughed, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back against his desk. He scoffed, shrugging, _ “You act as though these people don’t have complete and utter control over your research. Our research! We cannot just go poking around, they have power, money, not to mention the weapons.” _

_ “Our jobs are to help people!” _ She insisted and out came that overwhelming passion of hers. _ “If we can’t do that for someone under our own roof, then why are we even here?” _

Her eyes bored into him and he shook his head at her. 

_ “No,” _ he told her. 

She kept looking at him. 

_ “No,” _ he snapped at her.

She canted her head, eyebrows creasing.

_ “Absolutely not!” _

She walked forward, placed a hand on his sleeve, and said, _ “Harry, please?” _

After a moment of grumbling, huffing and puffing, he finally sighed. _ “Fine.” _

He was gifted with one of her brilliant grins, filled to the brim with triumph. Inside of his chest his heart gave a painful thud and-

  
  


Death coated the air like a fog, impossible to get away from no matter how far he ran. Every day a new voice, always familiar and always in desperation, would call out for him in the abyss of the snow fall. 

Harry looked down at his hands, held them up against the pale canvas of snow that covered the ground. They were cleaned but stained. 

He, a healer, in the middle of war. His own personal hell, sentenced to witness the last breath of his friends congeal in the bitter air of the winter. Because it was not that there was nothing he could do, it was that his best was never enough to save them. 

_ “Medic!” _ someone yelled. _ “Medic!” _

And he was off. 

  
  


_ “You percussionists are all the same.” _

_ “Oh?” _ A corner of his mouth quirked upwards in a lopsided smile. She glanced over at him and rolled her eyes. _ “And how is that?” _

_ “Arrogant and cocky. You all think you guys are the best and never talk to anyone outside your section. It’s like a cult.” _

_ “You think I’m arrogant?” _

_ “Were you not just listing off all the instruments you can play?” _

_ “You asked!” _ he laughed. Macy huffed in annoyance but it only made him smile wider. _ “And I’m talking to you, aren’t I?” _

_ “Only because you got on the wrong bus.” _

And how happy he was to have made such a mistake. They were sitting next to one another, thighs pressed together due to their hat boxes and garment bags taking up the room that should have been used for propriety due to their seat being over the tire. He had tried to mend the problem, only half sitting on the seat with his foot stuck out into the aisle, bracing him to the bumpy ride but had only gotten yelled at by the parent chaperone to keep the aisles cleared. 

_ “That’s not true,” _ he shook his head. _ “We’ve had many conversations during the second movement.” _

_ “Is that what you want to call it? I don’t think telling me to get out of the way can be classified as a conversation.” _

_ “I never said that. And I apologize for Tessa’s curtness, she can be-” _

_ “Intense?” _

_ “I was going to say a bitch, but yours is less crass.” _

His heart jumped at the sound of her laughter, bright and wonderful above the loud chatter of the bus filled with high school students. When she settled they looked at one another for a moment, the air charging up with something he didn’t quite understand but desperately wanted to. 

_ “Since we’re going to be here awhile I guess we might as well make it less painful,” _ she said. _ “So...favorite movie?” _

Harry smiled at her, watching as she canted her head at him when his silence stretched on too long. He took a breath, readying his answer, when the bus jostled harshly-

  
  


Her hand was balled in a fist and could feel her grip from the other side of the room around his heart. It pulled a gutteral sound from him, made him clutch at his chest as if he could somehow reach inside to pry her fingers away. 

_ “Why do you care so much, Harry?” _ she said but it was not her voice, not the one he knew so well.

_ “Someone has to.” _

  
  


He caught himself, the scrape of the brick biting at his palm. His breathing was labored, limbs sore, sweat and grime sticking to him like another layer over his skin. The portal was still opened, demons pouring into the city. 

When Macy’s voice finally came through the static it was a frantic smothering of words, cutting out every few seconds. 

_ “-ry, do- just wait we ca-, Mel knows how to-” _

Harry kept his eyes on the portal and did not reply, didn’t trust himself to be able to then. 

This was his final task. They had all known it the moment he had taken the box into his possession because there was still a war going on and if not here then somewhere else, by a bullet or magic or potion slipped into his morning tea. Still, Macy’s words kept coming in desperate clumps of overlapping, incoherent sentences that blurred together at the seams. 

_ “-ou don’t ha-, an figure this out-, old on-” _

As he ducked under the bridge and all he found himself thinking about was of how he was going to miss that. The sound of her voice, how stubborn she was. Even here, at the end. 

How he was going to miss Maggie’s movie commentaries and sitting across from Mel as they shared a pint. A year ago they had thought him to be a monster, but that had been before. Before they had learned one another’s recurring wounds and how to patch them up, before he had learned how they took their tea, that Maggie loved to sing, that Mel couldn’t drive, that Macy could make the perfect souffle. 

When he was finally able to say, _ “Macy,” _it came out cracked, the edges crumbling. 

Macy’s words sounded relieved, _ “-ank god-, -n’t go we-, -nother way.” _

He continued on his path, picking up his pace ever so slightly. No one had noticed him yet, an insignificant Whitelighter lost among the carnage. 

_ “You’ll recall that I have a gold lapel pin. I keep it on my bedside table. If you’d be so kind as to ensure that it finds its way to your three’s possession I would be ever so grateful. I know that it is not much, but I’m afraid it’s all I have left and I would like you to have it.” _

_ “-ut up,” _ Macy said as the static broke, the psychic connection suddenly clear. _ “You are not going to die, Harry, we can’t afford to lose you. I promise, we’ll figure out another way.” _

_ “Please. _ ” He rearranged the weight of the box he had tucked under his arm. _ “Don’t make promises you cannot keep.” _

_ “Harry,” _ and it was breathless, he knew, as she was fighting tooth and nail against their enemies. Demons still surrounded her and her sisters. His family. His second chance in more ways than one. 

_ “This is my choice.” _ he told her, words firm. _ “Not theirs.” _

_ “You don’t have to,” _ Macy choked, breath ragged. _ “We can find-” _

_ “There’s no time.” _Harry stepped out from the pillar he had been hiding behind, the portal just on the other side of the bridge. He could see it, and this was how he was going to die. In a scattering of light and paperwork filed by the University and the empty kitchen in the morning that would come after this one. Because there would be more after this one, he was making sure of that. 

_ “Macy.” _ His throat clicked and he couldn’t hang onto it anymore. 

But because Macy was still Macy, the scientist in need of a solution to her problem, the smartest person in the room who did not take no for an answer, who had been abandoned and left behind by those she loved so many times before, yelled his name over and over and over again. He orbed, just missing the demon that had been charging toward him to appear in front of the portal. Gaping and glowing so violently he had to shield his eyes against the harsh light. The box at his side began to vibrate at the proximity. He took in a breath and held it in his lungs, knowing it would be the last. 

This was the only thing that mattered, because later it wouldn’t. Nothing was meant to last. Flowers wilted, credits rolled. Even the sun would set one day never to return. In the years to come, none of this would matter. 

Except it would be the most important thing to have ever come to pass.

_ “I love you.” _

And he knew that everyone was going to hear it. That the Veras, Jada, Parker, the other Witches and Whitelighters and Pixies and Satyrs and members of their hodge-podge of a team would pause to listen, no matter what fight they were in the middle of. 

That Mel would be curling her hands into fists and that Maggie would be closing her eyes tightly against it as tears tracked down her cheeks and Macy-

  
  


_ Wake up _.

  
  


It was silent and then it wasn’t.

It was dark and then it wasn’t. 

It started with flashes, of what he couldn’t quite tell. Bursts of lights on an inky plane. Fire works, camera lights, a car blinker, the birth and death of a star. There was someone, pressing into him, like a lifeline. Their hand in his, their arm and leg and hip and ribs and shoulder aligned with his own. 

Harry was sitting in a classroom of a boarding school, the scratch of lead to paper filling his ears until it was laughter instead. Remarks on the color of his skin and the texture of his hair. Yelling. Loss. He looked down at the headstone of Dexter Vaughn, letting out a shuddering breath, forgetting that he hadn’t even known Dexter Vaughn. He shut his eyes against the sting of tears.

_ Wake up. _

He opened his eyes. 

Again and again and again. 

To the morning sun that was a wake up call, to slam his hand against the annoying insistence of the alarm. To a nightmare, the screams of someone in pain, his hand knocking on a door until the skin of his knuckles broke open on the bone as he yelled himself hoarse for someone he didn’t know. He was in an airport, a coffee shop, a school, a barn looking out across a green field. 

A computer screen comes to life. Opening a refrigerator in the middle of the night. Faulty overhead fluorescents flickered. 

There was light. It passed through him and into someone else. They twisted and turned, together and apart. Forever and not at all. The light glowed brighter when they touched and they pressed closer, only for it to be broken again by a flinch. Hesitation. Unsure. 

They fell. Down, down, down. Onto the hard wooden floor, through glass, off the edge of a building. 

There were hands there to pick them up, but not each other’s. Maggie and Mel, pulling them to their feet, pointing them back down the right path. 

Someone tripped, stumbled, and Harry was falling. 

Again. Again and again and again.

He was on a train, the wheels clacking along the tracks as he relaxed back into his seat. Across from him was a woman reading a novel. Her nose looked familiar to him. A man stood, waiting to get off at the next stop by the doors, and the shape of his chin conjured up something deep inside him. Blink, and it was gone. A girl, young, no more than ten, the sound of her voice. Bits. Pieces. Seperated, pulling themselves together.

She stood on the other side of the room, sidewalk, hallway. 

She sat on the other side of the couch, the table, the bus. 

She smiled. She laughed. She frowned. She yelled. 

She hugged him. She punched him. She didn’t even look his way. She ran her hand through his hair, pressing a kiss to his forehead, his cheek, his neck, smiling against his own. 

And he couldn’t help but to fall for her.

_ Wake up. _

They met in classrooms, sitting beside one another knowing they were the only ones who know what the bloody hell was even going on and befriended one another out of necessity but remained together out of want. 

They met in parent-teacher conferences, only Macy was not the mother of Maggie Vera, but she was her legal guardian and he suddenly understood why the young girl in his class was so upset all the time and why her older sister was the bravest person he had ever met. 

They met in museums when she asked for information on a painting, needing it for a class she was forced to take by her degree plan and he was more than happy to oblige, hands gesturing as he pointed out the details most people miss, unaware of the small smile on her face that was directed toward him instead of the piece on the wall in front of them. 

They met when Harry was pouring Macy her coffee every morning on the other side of the counter. They met when the stars were shining far above them, her finger pointing out the abstract shapes they created to him. They met in the middle of the street, both panting from adrenaline after Macy just saved him from the fate of eating the bumper of a car. 

There were worlds where she killed him. In one of them her eyes were an empty void as she crushed his heart without even having to bloody her hands. In another he had taken the bullet, the knife, the lightning blast, for her and she was asking him to keep his eyes open, please please_ please _. There were others, where they had destroyed each other time after time, always going back to the same place with him on a slab unable to hear her admit that she was sorry. 

They met by chance, by force, by luck. Sometimes that was all they were given. 

Meeting one another, a simple exchange of glances and then they were gone, off to live their own lives without the other except that one second, that fragment in time where they found one another, even if just for a moment. Where he didn’t even get to know Macy by her name, only by her voice or her eyes or the color of the sweater she had been wearing that day. 

He preferred those to the ones where they met and they fit and it worked but he lost her anyway. The ones where everything was wrong, lying in shattered pieces on the floor despite knowing one another, where she was with someone else and happy without him. He thought those were worse than the ones where he never got to find her at all. When it was a maybe, an almost. 

_ Harry _ , he heard Macy say somewhere in the darkness. _ Harry, I need you to wake up now. Come back to us. Come back to me. _

He could feel something touch his temple, soft and warm, but he also knew this was all but a dream. Feather light, the touch drifted down to his cheek and his skin prickled at the contact making the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention. 

_ Harry, please. Wake. Up. _

\--

He opened his eyes and hauled in air. 

“Harry! You’re okay!” 

Above him stood four people and ever so slowly, with a few blinks to clear his fuzzy vision, they came into focus. Mel, Maggie, Macy, and Ishara. He sat up slowly, groaning and pressing his fingers to his temple as his head began to pound. There were arms around him, tightening around his neck as a sob of relief could barely be heard, muffled by the fabric of his shirt at his shoulder. 

“I really thought you weren’t coming back this time,” Macy, it was Macy, said against him. He sighed, relieved at getting to touch her with his own hands, to wrap his own arm around her to return the hug with a desperation he had been hanging onto for so long. He could feel the stutter of her breath as she let it out and pulled her in tighter, even if his shoulder did protest in pain at the contact, fingers clutching at her as reassurance. 

“I made a promise,” he said. 

His eyes landed on Melanie from where she stood next to her sister. They exchanged a look of understanding, nodding to one another as she reached out to touch his arm and hold on until Macy moved away for her to have a turn. Maggie was right after and when she pulled away she came crashing back into his chest all over again. Ishara stood idly by, only offering a polite smile at him as the Mel and Macy sat down on either side of him on the sofa. 

“Harry, what the hell happened?” Mel asked as soon as Maggre re-released him. It was then that it dawned on him why it was such a relief to see all of them again, that he was even awake. 

“Macy,” Harry breathed, turning to face her, “Macy, I’m...I’m so sorry.”

“What?” she shook her head, not understanding. “What do you mean?”

“Your Mr. Fielding, he was here last night, with some sort of potion...he said- my god, has it happened?” he asked, eyes widening. “Has he made the claim?”

“Claim? Harry, what claim?” 

“Partnerwahl!” 

“I- no? What the hell is that? I haven’t seen Trevor since...since-”

“Since the morning after you were out,” Mel scoffed, her jaw clenching. “That prick, he came here to _ gloat! _ No wonder he turned into a douche when you said you couldn’t talk to him.” 

“But why?” Macy looked to Harry, distraught. “Why would he do this to you? I didn’t even know Ogres could do magic.” 

“They can’t,” he shook his head. “He said he’d paid a Demon to brew the potion for him.” 

Ishara hummed, nodding, _ “L'esprit ailleurs.” _

“Dear god.” His stomach churned, a hand coming up to touch his mouth at the thought that he had ingested such a thing, had almost suffered the fate of it. He shook his head, “But how did you manage to wake me from that? It’s strictly forbidden for a reason, there is no known cure.”

“Oh, gosh, where do we even start!” Maggie sighed, then began pacing back and forth beside the sofa he was sitting on. It was only then that he was aware enough to take in his surroundings. He had been moved from the kitchen into the living room, presumably by the four women surrounding him. 

“So! Picture it, Mel came back from the bar and stumbled upon you, passed out in the kitchen. She tells you to get up! You don’t. She kicks you-”

“I did not kick him! I poked him with my foot!” Mel said, then turned to Harry, “I poked you with my foot.”

“Whatever! Anyways, you’re still not waking up, Harry, which wouldn’t have been all that weird except you hadn’t been drinking, so what could possibly have done this to you? Then! She noticed it!” Maggie paused, then pointed, “Mace?”

“We found this on the floor beside you,” Macy said and he turned to find her holding a small plastic bottle with some of that black substance that had been forced down his throat. “Mel called us right after and-”

“I was sleeping, otherwise I would have totally been there for you, Har,” Maggie butted in then made a shushing sound to herself and gestured for Macy to continue.

“And we didn’t know what to do. The substance wasn’t organic in anyway and when we tried to identify it from a spell in the Book of Shadows it just-” She made off noises, her hands clapping together and then expanding. 

“It exploded in our faces,” Mel filled in for him when she noticed his confused expression. He nodded, grateful. “Then we were going to admit you into the hospital so they could get an IV into your system or something since it had been two days at that point and you still hadn’t moved.” 

“Thankfully none of that was needed,” Ishara said from where she had been lounging in one of the chairs. 

“Yeah! Ishara came in just when Mel was about to start loading up the car, and then we were having to go get some tree root from the forest counteract the poison that was hurting your actual body, and then…” Maggie’s face fell as she trailed off. She turned to Ishara who had sat down in one of the chairs. “What did you do, exactly?”

He felt Macy shift beside him, making him turn to see what she was doing. Her eyes were studying her hands, lips mashing against one another. Harry waited for a moment to see if she would look at him, if he would find his answer there, but she stubbornly avoided him. 

“My intention of coming here today had been to close the rift between this world and those surrounding it, but in order to do so we would have had to sacrifice perhaps the only way of communicating with you while you had been locked away in your own mind,” Ishara glanced to each of the sisters with a fond smile. “Of course they all insisted that it would have to wait until we awoke you...tell me, Mr. Greenwood, do you remember anything while you were in there?”

“I don’t think-” he stopped, and yes, he remembered everything like being dunked under the surface of a frozen lake. Harry deflated and Macy placed a hand on his arm, concerned, and it was like a dam breaking. 

“I had to enhance your connection in order to open a line of communication while you were under,” Ishara continued. “The strength of your string made it possible for her to find you, and for you to pull yourself back here, Mr. Greenwood.” 

“What does that mean?” Mel asked, seemingly as curious as Maggie now. “Their string?”

“As I have said, Mr. Greenwood and Macy are connected by a bond. Just as you are to one another, to Macy, and to Mr. Greenwood. Though theirs in particular is different. Forged into something very strong.”

“Er,” he tried to interject but it seemed that Ishara had not finished. 

“I don’t…How do you humans put it these days?” she hummed, squinting as she tilted her head back to look at the ceiling. Ishara bit her lip, returning her gaze to the sisters, “Soulmates? Is that correct?” 

He froze.

Macy’s hand on his arm went still. Everyone remained silent for all of five seconds.

“Oh, _ duh _,” Maggie made a face and tapped the side of her head. “I knew that.”

“You did?” Mel raised her eyebrows in doubt at her younger sister. 

“Beth told me,” she countered. Then, “Well, she didn’t exactly tell me so much as she was thinking about it and I kind of overheard her.”

“And you didn’t say anything?”

“She told me not to!” 

“That’s-That isn’t a thing,” Macy said. She shook her head, giving a laugh of disbelief. “Fate? Destiny? Soulmates? They are not a thing! It can’t be, the universe does not work like that. No one has someone written in the stars for them! The stars are just-just dead balls of gas and planets, put where they are in the sky at random! They don’t even stay in the same place every night.” 

“You are correct about one thing, Macy. Soulmates are not something that is written by anyone but those that have bound themselves to one another. It is a choice, not a given. But make no mistake, you and Mr. Greenwood have created this one yourselves.” Ishara got to her feet, movements as graceful as ever. Her eyes glowed warm with gold. 

She raised her hands up, palms to the ceiling as if she was holding something there. Her fingers circled around the invisible something until a string came into physical form. One end was wrapped around Macy’s wrist and the other around Harry’s. Maggie let out a sound of awe. 

The thread itself was not just one, but two intertwined, wrapping around the other. One was silver, the other purple. The line had its imperfections and bumps where knots had to have been doubled but when he pulled his wrist up it did not break, simply moved with him, leaving Macy undisturbed. 

“I am the Goddess of Oath and Love,” she said, dropping her hands and allowing the string to disappear before he had a chance to properly examine it. “Believe me when I say that I know what I’m talking about. There is too much heartbreak in this world that when something like this, the risk and vulnerability that comes with caring about another soul, to love someone without thinking twice, comes to be, it is almost impossible to ignore its presence.” 

His mind had fallen quiet in the meantime, the impending doom of their world and the threat of an unstable man who wanted to take Macy as his life partner loomed in the air over them. And yet the only thing that was running through his head was the word _ soulmate _. Over and over until it barely became a word anymore instead of just a set of sounds strung together to mean something to someone somewhere. It plagued him, overtaking every corner of his mind as he searched in vain for some sort of answer among the knowledge of the magical world he had learned over his time as a Whitelighter. 

He wished he had never been made aware of it, no matter how pleased his heart had been upon hearing the news. Because now, _ now _ he had this visceral force inside of him that would not rest. It had been given everything it needed to know. 

He was Macy’s, bound to her on a stretch of string that would never break. No matter how far apart they were from one another it would cross the distance to keep them connected, a gentle pull on their wrists as a reminder of what they were. 

Only she did not love him as he loved her. Whatever this was, this soulmates bond of theirs, she only saw him in a platonic light. So while his mind would argue that they were more, that whoever Macy set her eyes on would never have that to back them up, he knew that it could never mean anything to anyone but himself. He wanted her to be happy and that was not with him, no matter what this now meant for them. 

“We don’t have time for this.” Macy stood, tearing her hand off of his arm. 

“Macy,” he tried as she passed by him, “Macy!” 

“Where are you going?” Mel asked, her and Maggie following after their sister when she yanked open the front door. 

“To find Trevor,” Macy growled and slammed the door shut behind her. 

“We need to go after her.” Harry stood, wobbling slightly. “I can orb us to Mrs. Dreher, we can warn her.”

“Harry, you’re in no condition to be orbing, let alone taking two people with you.” Mel shook her head. “I’ll call Natasha on the way there. Are you coming?”

The question had been directed toward the Goddess who paused, then shook her head, “No. I cannot interfere in matters such as these. But I must implore you to hurry. Macy is the only one who can keep this universe from collapsing in on itself.”

“Great,” Maggie breathed. “No pressure or anything.”

\--

The drive to the clan’s territory was excruciatingly long. These days, without the Elder’s scolding him for his excessive use of orbing, he had become so used to getting to and from locations so quickly. It had never occurred to him that he could spend his afternoons on the cliff edges of the Aran Islands and be back without anyone noticing. Or that he could orb to Manchester to pick up some proper tea bags instead of settling for the rubbish at the supermarket. 

He never did, of course, knowing that it would eventually backfire on him when an Innocent spotted him or he would be caught somewhere he shouldn’t, but knowing that he could was inherently tempting. Like now, as he felt the strength of his magic returning to him, he wanted to orb from the back seat of the car to Fielding’s home before Macy could even knock on his door and endanger herself further.

They pulled up to the Dreher’s house, greeted with confusion by the clan’s leader when she stood from where it looked like she had been gardening. No wonder she had not been answering Mel’s phone calls.

“Macy’s car isn’t here,” Maggie pointed out. “Do you think she drove it all the way to Trevor’s house?”

“Mel, Maggie, Mr. Greenwood, I wasn’t expecting-” she said when they clambored out of the car.

“Excuse my rudeness, Mrs. Dreher but we have no time. Have you seen Macy?” he asked, cutting her off.

“Oh. No, not today.”

“Is Trevor here?” Mel continued, turning to scan the village. “Trevor Fielding?”

“No, he isn’t, actually, I only just saw him on his way out. He got a call not twenty minutes ago asking him to come help. There was some kind of emergency at the University.” She narrowed her eyes when the three of them all looked to one another, feeling like a trio of idiots in that moment. “Mel, what’s going on?”

“He’s probably already there! Damn Macy and her higher than average IQ!” Maggie groaned.

“Short version? Trevor tried to poison Harry so he could...what was it?”

“Claim Partnerwahl,” he said. Mrs. Dreher gasped, recoiling. “Ladies, we have to go. Now.”

“Harry, you can’t-”

“Melanie, your sister is in very real danger. She is emotionally unstable at the moment, you know what kind of effect that has on you three’s powers, she is at a disadvantage. We don’t have time to drive, now,” he held out his arms, “either you come with me or I’m going alone.” 

Mel and Maggie shared a look, but ultimately grabbed hold of him.

When they reappeared they were at the University, outside the building where Harry knew Mr. Fielding’s office to be as Macy had often told him she would be meeting the Ogre there before bidding Harry a farewell. They were in the lawn just beside the parking lot in front of the entrance.And Macy was there using her powers against Mr. Fielding, keeping him pinned to the floor in a kneeling position in front of her. 

The feeling the scene elicited from him was inappropriate for the tone of the situation. But that would remain with him. 

“Macy!” Mel called out to alert her of their presence. It made Macy turn to look at them, “Don’t!” 

The momentary distraction had weakened her hold on the Ogre allowing him to reach forward and grab her leg, pulling it out from under her and Harry was moving before her back hit the ground.

Fielding was on his feet, towering over Macy, but Harry was there to shove him backward. The Ogre stumbled more so out of shock than the power behind it, eyes focusing on the person who dared to push back against him. 

“You and your little Charmed Ones are going to pay for what you’ve done! I’ll tell the council and they’ll see to it that you’re finished.” Fielding looked behind Harry where Mel and Maggie who had ran over to help Macy to her feet. “You’re going to regret rejecting me.” 

“Do not threaten my Charges,” Harry said, everything that had been building within him since he had first heard the man’s name rose to the surface now. 

“You’re no match for me, Whitelighter,” the Ogre scoffed, smiling with his confidence in the statement. They kept their eyes locked on their opponent, sizing one another up. Or, in Harry’s case, reassessing his plan of attack. He had faced an Ogre before and was still healing from the consequences of that fight, he couldn’t make the same mistakes here. 

“You’re mistaken.” 

Fielding moved first, announcing this by yelling out as his human self shifted into the Ogre, tusks and skin and hair changing into his other form of being. He came rushing forward, throwing a wild punch that Harry was able guide out of the way with his good arm before it made any contact. He turned with it, side stepping the Ogre as his momentum kept him moving passed Harry. Fielding rounded back, another punch winding up for Harry to duck under.

When he straightened back up a moment later he saw the opening and landed a strike of his own to Fielding’s jaw. The Ogre reached for him, latching onto the lapels of his coat and holding him in place for his knee to come up into Harry’s stomach. He released Harry in order to try to land another punch but Harry avoided him again, counter attacking as the Ogre did not seem to care that he always left himself vulnerable after making his move. Defense, it seemed, was not in their fighting regiment. 

The space between them widened slightly as Fielding stepped back but it only allowed him to bring up his leg and thrust a kick into Harry’s middle. The pain made him lean forward slightly, allowing for the Ogre to finally make contact with his fist to the side of Harry’s head. 

He tried again, but Harry held up his bad arm to block himself. He winced at the movement but it was better than allowing the impact to hit his head. Fielding, finally having taken notice of the disadvantage, grabbed onto the arm and pulled, tearing apart the brace as if it were tissue paper. He twisted it, sending a flare over his shoulder that made Harry cry out at the pain. 

“Stop it!” someone, one of the girls, yelled.

The Ogre chuckled darkly and threw him across the lawn, the side of the building breaking his fall, and followed after him like a toy he was playing fetch with. Harry stood, trying to hold his shoulder in place as Fielding came forward. He waited, needing to time it just right, and as the hand came up, ready to apply another punch, Harry orbed. 

He reappeared behind Fielding, shoving his good shoulder into the Ogre’s spine to knock him into the wall. The impact brought Fielding to his knees, head smashing into the hard surface in front of him enough to crack and dent the brick. After a moment he was standing again, rounding on Harry with a growl. 

Harry released his shoulder in favor of getting ready to block whatever the Ogre was planning next. Fielding stepped forward. 

“Hey!” They both turned to find Macy standing there, her hand raised in the air clutching at something, only there was nothing in her grasp. Her eyes were on Harry and then they flickered to the left, telegraphing that he needed to _ move _. He took a few steps back, away from Fielding, and then flinched when he watched as the man’s truck fell on top of him. 

The alarm went off and he snapped his fingers at the car, silencing it. 

He breathed, stepping forward to ensure that Fielding was truly down for the count. The Ogre’s hand was sticking out from underneath the car and his skin had turned back to that of his human form, fingers twitching.

“Harry!” was the only word of warning he had before Macy was crushing him against her. He winced without meaning to, the pain of his shoulder too much to keep under the guise of a stiff upper lip. Macy stiffened, pulling away from him in an instant, “Oh, sorry, I-”

“No, no, I’m alright,” Harry shook his head, and brought his hand across to hold his shoulder to keep it from moving freely. They met one another’s eyes, the stare charged with something thick and heavy. Macy was looking at him with attentive focus, eyes full of something like a question. It made him swallow, “I’m sorry.”

“What for?” 

He nodded toward the car, frowning in sympathy, “I know that you were fond of him and I-”

“He was my friend,” Macy said. “Or at least I thought he was. Clearly, he was suffering from Nice Guy syndrome after I turned him down. Don’t feel sorry, he literally tried to kill you.” 

“Yes, well…thank you for saving my life.”

She made a face of doubt, glancing at the car that was still settling beside them, “I think you would have had it covered.”

“I very much doubt that,” he chuckled, smiling. The stretch gave a sudden sting that made him wince. He swiped his tongue along his bottom lip and tasted blood. Sighing, annoyed at the prospect of having to drink his tea with lemon with a split lip, he pulled his handkerchief from his breast pocket. Macy reached forward, swiping it from him, and dabbed it gently at the corner of his mouth.

He watched as her throat worked, eyes flickering over his face as she struggled against whatever words were holding her tongue. The focus returned, the devoted attention, it was as if she was studying him under one of her microscopes, able to make out every detail of him with one cursory glance. It was an expression that was so infuriatingly unreadable that he could not even categorize it properly. 

“Thank you, but I think I’d better-” he said and went to take it back from her. 

Only Macy didn’t have her hand at his mouth anymore, it had the front of Harry’s shirt, and Harry had barely a second to brace himself before Macy was slotting their mouths together. 

It was as simple as that and he could not quite believe it. So much so that the first few seconds of it were just shock, rendering him unable to move. He did not have his wits about him to close his eyes or kiss back. The thing trapped inside his chest tightened, making his heart ricochet against its confines. Macy made a sound, a sort of indignant huff that made his lips tingle. 

It was innocent, skin on skin, chaste and awkward, unsure. 

That managed to last all of three more seconds because then Macy changed it, Harry didn’t know what, the angle or the pressure or the amount, would never be able to pinpoint it, but then the kiss became so much more of a kiss. 

It was nothing like he had ever dreamed. It was slow, himself melting into her as they breathed one another in. He released the hold of his shoulder in favor of placing his hand on her jaw, a cautious request of permission that she answered by leaning into it. His nose nestled against her cheek as she pressed closer and suddenly he felt alive. 

When Macy’s lips parted he responded, her mouth warm and soft, softer than he had ever imagined. It made him weak at the knees, the throat, the everything, in danger of falling over if not for the rigid grip she had on his lapels. Then he felt the brush of Macy’s tongue on his bottom lip and- 

He pulled back, eyes flying open to meet hers. Something passed between them in the silence, both panting, but he didn’t want to be wrong, couldn’t afford to be anymore. 

“Macy,” he said and dear god his voice was wrecked. “Please.” 

She opened her mouth, but it was not her voice that sounded out. 

“They’re over here!” Maggie announced. While Macy had stayed behind Mel and Maggie had raced off to meet Mrs. Dreher, and it seemed the whole of the Ogre clan judging by the size of the amount of people the sisters had trailing behind them. With another shared look he and Macy turned to greet their audience.

“Mr. Greenwood! Macy!” Mrs. Dreher said when they met in the middle. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m-”

“No, you’re not,” Macy glared and it was then that he thought maybe the kiss had been nothing more than a heat of the moment ordeal. She had just lost her trust in someone she had called a friend, perhaps more, and it would be no surprise that she had been seeking comfort from the ordeal. “You’ve been in a magic induced coma for two days, Harry, you can say no.”

“But-”

“What happened? Mel only said that Trevor was attacking you.” Mrs. Dreher’s eyes trailed off behind them to where the Ogre was now. 

It was a joined explanation between himself and the Charmed Ones, during which Macy took the time to reset his shoulder back into place, but eventually they got the whole story out to the leader of the clan. A jealous man out for a gain in power had allowed his inner green monster to get the best of him. 

Fielding had not died under the weight of the truck, had merely been rendered unconscious, and Mrs. Dreher had promised that they would punish him accordingly. She insisted that they come back to the village for dinner, feeling guilty and responsible for everything that a member of her clan had done to them, but Mel and Maggie quickly declined. 

Their dismissal of Mrs. Dreher that reminded Harry of the Goddess they had left back at the house, and of the doom that was still emanate. 

“Quickly,” he said, “we don’t know how much time we’ve left.”

“Time left? What do you-?” Macy tried to ask, but her sisters only grabbed onto her arms, Mel clutching onto Harry. He took in a deep breath and pulled whatever strength he had left together to orb them back to the sisters’ living room. 

“Good, you’re back,” the Goddess said from behind them, walking down the last of the steps to cross the foyer. 

“What do we have to do?” Mel asked. 

“We have to return what does not belong.” Ishara’s eyes landed on Macy. 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Maggie said, looking between them with worry. 

“Don’t fret, child. It’s minimal. Small enough to have evaded me for this long.” Ishara stood, as did the sisters when she tilted her head at Macy. “You have memories that should no longer exist.”

“Memories?” Macy repeated, glancing at her sisters, at Harry, and back to Ishara. “What do you mean? What memories?”

“When your sisters and Whitelighter returned to this universe they did not come back the moment you removed them. There are two timelines inside of your head and for you, having not traveled with the other three, only one should have remained. But, since you held that much power inside of you, you somehow kept them. Now you must return them to that universe. They don’t belong here. From your point of view, you were only ever the Source for an hour at best.” 

“That’s it?” Mel cut in. “That’s what’s been making the universe collapse? Macy remembering that alternate timeline?” 

“No. That would be the result of you three trying to rip the other universes that had been leaking over out of her mind,” Ishara chided. “But just as well, the tear would have caused complications eventually.”

“Okay, so,” Macy moved her hands without purpose, “if we get rid of my memories then everything will be okay? No more tear? No more...dreams?”

Ishara nodded, a soft smile on her features. “Yes. All will be well, only you will not remember your time as the Source the first time around. Nothing from that timeline will be left, only what has been made a reality in this universe will be.” 

“So, I won’t remember bringing back Galvin or the way I acted towards you guys, or…” she trailed off, her gaze lingering on Harry and- oh. 

Oh. 

She wouldn’t remember having to hear his thoughts, she wouldn’t remember that she knew he was in love with her. 

“I mean that’s not so bad.” Macy shook her head, looking away from Harry. “They’re kind of redundant anyways. And I’ll have you guys to tell me what I’m missing.”

His heart squeezed, pulling his gaze down to the floor as he thought that over. How could he possibly tell her that when he was being given the chance to have it cleaned off the slate that he had with Macy? Wasn’t this the gift he had been hoping to receive? To clear Macy’s mind of his oppressive feelings for her? To allow her to view him as a friend who cared for her and would protect her, and that was all? Not having to worry about sending him the wrong signals or touching him and thinking more of it than what it was, a simple touch. 

Harry thought of her lips against his, how he would be plagued with the thought of that kiss for the rest of his seemingly eternal life. Perhaps the kiss would be rendered obsolete. If she had any feelings for him that had not been produced from adrenaline or shear relief than if they had been born from the knowledge of knowing his feelings for her then she may just want to forget that the kiss ever happened, too, would be confused as to why she had done it at all. Had the soulmate speech done something? Or had it been the adrenaline of the moment?

This would put them on level ground again. She would no longer know how he felt about her just as he, now more than ever, didn’t know where he stood with her. 

And he hated that she had found out that way, against both of their wills. An accident that he should never have let come to pass, and now he was being given the chance to do this right. To not tell her and let her live her life. Macy Vaughn deserved to be happy and Harry knew that could be possible without those memories of his thoughts plaguing her mind. As well as the glimpses into the other realities. 

He felt someone’s eyes on him and to his surprise he found both Vera sisters staring at him as Ishara asked them all to follow her up to the attic. The three of them hung back as Ishara and Macy climbed the stairs, Mel cutting off his path before he could retreat with them. 

“Harry-”

“Melanie, please,” he whispered, glancing to watch as Macy and Ishara disappeared around the corner toward the attic. “It’s better this way.”

“No! Are you kidding me? Just because she’s not going to remember you _ thinking _ it she’s still going to know! She’s going to want context and if she asks you have to tell her.”

“She won’t.”

“How do you know that?”

“She agreed,” Harry said, recalling their pact. “She agreed to pretend that it never happened and now, to her, that will become a reality. _ This _ reality. It’s what she wanted.”

“No, that’s what _ you _ wanted, Harry. And because of that she agreed. For you!” Maggie chimed in, going to stand at her sister’s side opposite of him. Two on one. 

“Only because she does not return my feelings. There’s no reason to tell her.”

“There’s every reason! You two are freaking soulmates!” 

“And now you can get the chance to actually say it to her face. Don’t you want that?” Mel asked, her voice growing softer, eyebrows creased in concern for him. 

He hesitated but ultimately he knew the right answer. “No.” 

“Why not?” Maggie demanded. 

“Because I don’t want this to burden her anymore than it already has,” he said, desperate for them to understand. “She was grieving and under the influence of all that power. She was more vulnerable than she has ever been and that was the moment she heard my thoughts. Unwanted and unwarranted.” 

“It can be different now, though. It’s been months since then and she won’t even remember everything she did when she was the Source.” 

“No. It is far worse knowing that my feelings have only caused her pain and suffering than to never have told her at all. Macy deserves every happiness, and if this will relieve some of that unneeded tension then I don’t want to take that away for her because of my selfishness.” He swallowed, looking between the Vera’s. “Please, ladies.”

They didn’t answer, sharing a glance with one another. Maggie made a high noise of pain. 

“No.” Mel told her. Maggie stuck out her lower lip.

“But Mel! This could ruin everything!” 

“No! We are not telling him anything.”

“What are you two talking about?” Harry interjected only to be ignored completely.

“But-”

“Maggie, no.” 

“Mel!” 

“We made a promise!” 

“But she said-”

“Guys?” Macy stood on the landing, eyebrows raised when they all straightened up and turned to her. “You coming? We can’t really use the Power of Three without, you know, _ three. _”

“Totally,” Mel gave an airy laugh and then grabbed ahold of Maggie’s arm, pulling her behind as she started up the stairs. “We’re right behind you!” 

Harry followed them as they made their way to the attic, finding the preparations to the spell having already been set up. All that seemed to be left to do was-

“Lukkái,” Ishara said with a wave of her hand and every single wick in the room flickered to life with a flame. “Come, Charmed Ones, we’re running out of time.”

Macy laid down, as instructed, in the middle of the floor looking awkward and uncertain as Ishara, Mel, and Maggie sat down around her. Sisters on either side of her, the Goddess just above her head. 

Mel and Maggie joined hands and Harry remained by the pillar closest to the door, trying his best not to hover like a helicopter parent, as Maggie often described him as. They recited something in what he assumed to be Hittite. It took him a moment to realize that Macy no longer had her eyes opened, her breathing a steady rhythm as her folded hands rose and fell to it. 

Ishara reached forward, pulling a string from Macy’s temple and wrapping it around her fingers like a loose thread off a sock or hemline. “All done. She’ll awaken once her mind has healed. It won’t take long.” 

“Ew,” Maggie stuck out her tongue when she watched Ishara pocket the string. “What’re you going to do with it?”

“I’m going to give them back to the universe they belong to and hope that this one will remain in tact afterwards.” 

“Is there anything else we can do to help?” Mel asked as both her and Ishara stood.

“No. I will take it from here. Thank you for your help, Charmed Ones, but I must go.” 

“Awh,” Maggie rose to her feet, “I’m gunna miss you! Don’t be a stranger, you know you can always comes visit!”

“Just make sure to text first,” Mel reminded them. Ishara gave a small laugh and nodded.

“Thank you. I very much look forward to seeing you again. When your sister wakes up tell her I wish her luck.” The sisters exchanged hugs with the Goddess and then she made her way to stand in front of Harry. “Goodbye, Mr. Greenwood.” 

“Goodbye. It has been a pleasure,” he replied and bowed his head. She was smiling at him when he looked back up and reached out to brush a hand over his cheek. 

He blinked and she was gone. 

Macy groaned from where she was laying on the floor. 

“Mace?” Maggie crouched down, Mel mirroring her actions, as Macy pushed herself up to a sitting position. She held a hand to her temple. Harry stepped forward but kept his distance, just in case. “How’re you feeling there, sunshine?”

“Like someone put my brain in a blender and made some kind of smoothie,” Macy replied, voice strained as she blinked widely. “Ugh, that was awful.” 

“Do you-?” he started to ask, getting closer to her with his hand extended, magic at the ready to heal any of her pain. She stopped him when she held up her hands. 

“No! No, it’s okay, you still need to rest. This is nothing ibuprofen can’t handle.” With the help of her sisters Macy got to her feet.

“So it worked?” Mel ventured. “Do you remember anything from…?”

Macy seemed to search her mind, a silent scavenger hunt for scattered memories, only to shake her head slowly, “No...I can remember taking on the Source, getting us all back to the house, and then throwing you across the room and sending you to New York.” 

“That’s great!” Maggie smiled. “Hopefully Ishara can just toss your memories into the hole and we’ll be good to go.” 

“Yes,” Harry murmured. “Hopefully. Congratulations on saving the world from yet another Dooms Day, ladies. Well done.”

“Couldn’t have done it without you, Har,” Maggie scrunched her nose up at him. “Ugh, I am so glad that’s over. I’m pretty sure the stress of knowing there was a giant hole in our universe has made me lose thirty years of my life.” 

“I need a drink,” Mel sighed. Harry made a noise of agreement, touching his shoulder and wincing at the pain that met him. 

“We need to get the weight off of your shoulder,” Macy said. “Do you still have that sling the hospital gave you?”

“Yes, it’s back at my condo.” 

“I’ll come with you to get it.” 

“And you’re coming back here to stay the night, Harry, no buts! We’re due for a movie night,” Maggie said and then turned toward the attic’s door.

“Ah ah ah, not so fast,” Mel grabbed hold of her little sister’s hand. “We are going to go get my car.”

Maggie groaned, “Ugh, but I want to get this bra off and shower! Can’t we do that tomorrow?”

“No way! I need it to get to work in the morning.” 

Maggie groaned louder. 

“Here,” Macy pulled her keys from the pocket of the jacket she had not taken off since they’d gotten back to the house. None of them had exactly had the time anyways. “My car is still at the school, but it’s a shorter walk there then through the woods after you drop us off at Harry’s.”

“When we get back can we still have a movie night?” Maggie asked. 

The sisters nodded in agreement. 

The walk to campus was pleasantly quiet to match the drive to his home, which seemed appropriate as the day had been a long one, all too tired to carry on even the smallest of conversations. The only sounds were of Macy and Maggie tapping at their phone and the quiet hum of Mel echoing the music that was coming over the speakers. The Vera’s drove off down the street, their mission diverging, as soon as he and Macy entered his building. 

She helped him climb the stairs, looping their arms together to allow him to lean on her until he could get the door to his condo open and them on the other side when he locked it back again behind them. 

He turned to check on her when he felt her fingers curl tighter into the fabric of his coat. Something in her expression turned deeper, that same something that Harry could not put a name to though it sat mockingly on the top of his tongue. 

“Macy?” he asked, at a loss. “Are you alright?” 

Her expression softened and she opened her mouth, but just like before nothing came out. Instead she pulled her arm out from under his and reached for his hips, backing him up until he hit the door. This time he did not even get the second to register what was about to happen before their noses were mashing together, mouths pressing together in a much more frantic, desperate rate than before. 

His eyes shut helplessly as her hand threaded into his hair, holding him still for her. She smelled like she always did, warm like cardamom and coffee, but it mixed with the richness of the outside. 

Macy moved, finally, hands tightening on his hip bones, and thank goodness because Harry knew he couldn’t have been the one to do it, to allow the smallest of space to put distance between them. Too afraid to break the moment, to have her come to her senses and retreat back, never to have another one like it. 

At the first touch of their tongues together it struck through him like a match, his brain finally catching up to just what the bloody hell was going on. She gasped, something that sounded like his name but he would get to find out because he didn’t care, too busy having to kiss Macy back. He had to groan into this much desired, never thought to come true, kiss that had turned into open mouths and Macy’s tongue pushing past his teeth. 

They needed to talk about this, Harry thought but then he made a surprised and strangled noise as she shoved a leg between his, kicking them apart to press harshly against him. It sent a jolt straight up his spine, heat curling low in his gut. 

Their hands fumbled blindly, trying to find purchase where they could and the pain of his shoulder flaring all the while. He tried not to move that arm, could only grasp at the opening of Macy’s coat with it at her thigh, thumb brushing against her there when she crowded into him. 

She didn’t know. She didn’t know and he needed to tell her that he loved her, he insisted to himself but Macy, not one to be one-upped, was working both his coat and his blazer off of his shoulders. The movement, sudden and harsh, of him trying to shrug off the layers made him pull back, creating distance as he groaned in the misery of the pain it struck through him. 

“Harry?” Macy sounded so worried, her eyes wide. “What-? Oh god. I’m so sorry, I completely forgot-”

“It’s alright,” he said, breathless as he stared at her. “Quite alright.” 

“I shouldn’t have- and we need to find that sling before your shoulder gets worse. You heard the doctor, it takes like 15 weeks for it to heal, now it’s probably going to- well, I guess not that long since you have the Whitelighter genes, but I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you-”

“Macy. Breathe.” Harry reached up to place his hand on her cheek, steadying her. He waited until she did as he suggested, closing her eyes and taking in air through her nose, releasing it slowly through her mouth. Just as he had been about to pull away she placed her hand over his, pressing in closer to his palm when she opened her eyes once more. He stared, unable to fathom that his touch was wanted like this by her. 

“Harry,” Macy said, quieter but he could still make out the shake in it. “I have to know that this isn’t because you feel like you have to because of the whole fate thing or because you think I want it therefore you have to. There’s been a million different you’s and me’s in my head these past few weeks and...and I need this to be your choice, too.” 

As she continued to speak her voice got a little more panicky, her grip on him that much tighter like they were bound all over again and letting go of him meant immediate pain. And he knew, understood better than Macy could comprehend, that sense of yearning that had been fitted into him so deeply he could feel it in his bones. 

Often he would wonder why the Elder’s had left Whitelighters with such a capacity to feel, had they wanted the soldiers and servants they had always reminded them that they were, shouldn’t they have been void of emotion at all? Would it not have been easier to turn them into mindless machines to adhere to every beck and call of them, of the witch in their care? Wouldn’t they have taken away his longing and desperate need for something like this? 

“If you’ll recall, the Goddess said that this was forged, not found, making it our own, not anyone else’s.” Harry straightened, using the door he was still pressed up against to push himself to his full height which did lend him that one extra inch on her. “You will always be my choice, Macy.” 

Which was the truth of the matter, having been proven in a variety of colors and shades. He would chose her over and over and over. Without hesitation, without a doubt, in the space of a heartbeat, he would always chose her above all else. 

He paused, took a moment to pull himself together because after all his denying, all his inner turmoil and debating, her sisters had been right. She deserved to know the truth, to hear it aloud finally in order to fully understand. 

And even though there was a speech inside of him somewhere, filled with waxing poetics and Shakespearean dramatics to laminate his feelings for her, all he could manage to get out was a defenseless, “I love you.” 

He felt her stiffen under his touch, against his person, watched as her expression froze in place and it was then that he knew he’d ruined the whole thing. Pushed too far, asked too much, another second chance lost. 

But then Macy smiled. Bright and beautiful and with an airy little laugh he could feel ghost across his mouth. 

“I love you, too,” she said and Harry felt the fear leave his body, the panic draining out to only leave a kind of overwhelming relief and exuberance he hadn’t felt in a very long time, maybe ever. He smiled, unable to help himself at the sight of her there in front of him doing the same, one that would never cease to steal his breath. They were standing there, grinning like a pair of idiots, one moment and then the next Macy had her hand back underneath his blazer, causing his breath to hitch when her thumb brushed the skin at his collar. 

He pushed his shoulders back, allowing the clothing to fall down passed his elbows, wrists, and catching on his hands because while, yes, his mind was addled with Macy’s love in this universe, and all the others, he was not an animal who would allow his clothing to be left on the floor. Harry leaned, allowing them to catch on the coat rack he had next to the door, and then returned to Macy, who was staring down at his middle with what looked to be mild annoyance. 

“What?” he asked, looking down at himself. There was no sign of blood, and he felt no major injury besides his shoulder. “What is it?”

“_ You, _and all these-,” Macy giggled then, moving her hands to twist one of his sleeve garters and then snap one of his braces. “-layers.”

He felt a blush warm the skin of his chest, crawling up his neck to his face, and it made him frown. Why was he embarrassed? He wore them for a reason as he was still quite attached to the fashion of an older era. It meant propriety and that, of course, meant layers to ensure it would be kept in tact.

Harry almost went to defend himself but then Macy was slowly pulling one of the braces down the length of his arm until it lay lax at his side. She repeated the action again with the opposite brace, her smile becoming less amused and more pleased and that seemed to be the point when his brain decided to come back to him with a coherent set of thoughts. 

“Wait,” he said, voice like gravel. He grabbed her wrist gently, just enough to halt her movements and bring her eyes back up to meet his. He searched them briefly before saying, “We don’t have to.”

“I know,” she said and then deliberately pressed her thigh up in between his own, and god that was just not fair. “But I want this. Want you.” 

The look she gave him then, a pleading question tucked under intense heat, was enough to not only break his resolve but shatter it to pieces. 

He cupped the back of her head with his good hand, bringing their mouths together in a bruising kiss that he knew he should have taken better care of, had thought that they would have gone about this with more grace but it would seem their enthusiasm out weighed the ability to do this with a manner of civility. Couldn’t help the desperate desire to get passed her lips and teeth, to allow her to do the same and to take whatever it was she wanted, whatever he had left to give was hers anyways.

She grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling him backward with her but they only made it a couple of inches before she had him back against the door, unable to part from one another quite yet.

Her hand had to reach out, palm flat against the wall beside his shoulder, in order to steady them against his constant writhing. An inability to just be still when she was there in the cradle of his hips driving him absolutely insane. The low groan she made sent sparks through his veins. She pulled, once, twice, three times at his shirt until it became untucked from his pants and it was all the warning he had before warm palms slid across abdomen. 

“We need to-” Macy gasped when they finally parted and just the sight of her throat working to pull air into her lungs made him lean forward to press his lips against the skin there, feel the way she grabbed at his sides to pull him tighter as if to ensure he wasn’t going to break away or stop. “Bed. _ Bed _, we really-”

He pulled his head up, allowing their noses to brush as they panted, unable to break the eye contact as the air got heavier around them with whatever they had built up between them. Macy moved and they were kissing all over again.

Somehow they managed to stumble into his bedroom without pitching over onto the floor. Macy shrugged out of her coat and stepped out of her boots on her own, Harry helping her to pull her blouse over her head. And she was soft everywhere he touched, smooth warm skin under his fingers as he splayed his hand over her back just under the line of her bra. The opposite to him, nothing but long lines and sharp angles, not that she seemed to mind this as her fingers fit into the space left between his ribs to force them back together, chest against chest. 

It gave her the control needed to walk him back to the bed, letting Harry topple backward with a soft,_ “Oof,” _ so that she could crawl on top of him. With a huff of annoyance she pulled away, a hand on his chest to push him back into the duvet when he tried to follow. He opened his eyes to see what the problem was only to find her carefully pulling away his sleeve garters.

Then she was on the buttons of his shirt, undoing them like they had personally insulted her by existing, and he took the opportunity to just look at her. Utterly debatched, lips red and wet, one strap of her bra slipping down her shoulder. So unlike the Macy Vaughn he knew who was always put together, so unwilling to show weakness for fear of exploitation and ridicule. 

She glanced up at him when she had finally managed to work his shirt open, brows knitting together as she searched his face and he has no idea what it must have been telling her in that moment.

“What?” she asked and he could hear the touch of nervousness, insecurity seeming to wiggle its way into her already and that just would not do. Harry reached up with his good arm to, opening his palm over the curve of her neck, thumb settling just under her lower lip. It was tentative, even though they were in a very compromising position and that his trousers were getting more and more uncomfortable. His touch was still tender and light, still scared of holding on too hard in case she decided to pull away. 

Which he would allow her to, of course, give her the space she required, but after this, after everything, he knew he would follow behind like he always did when she ran. 

Her eyes softened, the notch between her brows smoothing, and if there was any hesitancy in her before it was gone the instant she dipped her head down to take his thumb between her lips. Her tongue curled around it, gathering it between her teeth, and Harry let out a choking sound that he would be mortified to recall. 

A lot happened all at once after she released him, Macy bending down to kiss his face, below his eyes and down his jaw, at his neck and collar bones. He exhaled, the air coming out in a stutter start-stop, and spread his legs further apart to properly fit around Macy’s hips. 

“Macy,” he huffed when her hair brushed over his skin, forcing a small giggles from him. She peered up at him and then he could feel the curve of her smile being pressed into his skin as she continued. All of which were light, barely there kisses to all the skin she could reach until she leaned back. 

He had managed to prop himself up on his elbow, trying to shrug the rest of his way out of the shirt until Macy dipped her hand into the waistband of his trousers, pulling a guttural sound from him. His cock was already blood hot and leaking in her grasp, the twist of her wrist making him groan, eyes squeezed shut. 

Her movements changed every so often, just when he thought she was going to work up a rhythm for some kind of relief she would move her hand elsewhere, to a different position. And when he pried open his eyes to see what the bloody hell she was doing, he found that familiar look on her face. One that was usually reserved for when she was bent over her microscope or studying her reports. She was looking at him like a puzzle, like she was searching for a solution and being somewhat impatient with the results she was getting. 

Macy had only ever been with one other person, to his knowledge, like this, and here he was allowing her to do all the work. He steeled himself, trying to bite down on the amount of want that was threatening to suffocate him to a more manageable size to place it away in another part of his brain. It was still there in every punch of his erratic heartbeat, in the heat that was radiating off his skin, the flush that no doubt stretched over his chest and cheeks, in the pulse at the tip of his cock. But he could control it if it meant he would be making Macy feel half as unwound as he was. 

He used his good arm to push himself up. Macy moved back, almost too far off the edge of the bed, and he had to quickly wrap his arm around her waist to keep her in place, her hand pulling free in order to cling to his open shirt front. He moved his hand up to cup the back of her head as he turned them over, laying her down on the bed. Harry kicked his shoes off, watching as she wiggled back to the middle of the mattress only to follow after her. He sat back on his calves, helping her to wriggle free of her trousers. 

Harry had turned, having done his best to keep them folded at the crease and let them fall to the floor in a neat heap, and when he returned his eyes to her she’d reached around to unclasp her bra. Their eyes were on one another as she let the straps slide off her shoulders, her right hand catching it and tossing it off the side of the bed. 

A soft sound escaped her when he reconnected their mouths in an insistent kiss, teeth clacking together. His hand was everywhere he could reach after that, cupping her face, smoothing the hair behind her ear, grasping her hip bone, and sliding back up her sides to palm her breasts that had pillowed against his own chest. 

Her fingers dug into his arms after his hand had found its way between them, her teeth sinking into his lower lip urged when his fingers teased lightly at her center, grazing over the fabric. He could already feel her heat, which made his own body grow impossibly hotter, his cock twitching on his pants that had miraculously managed to still be on, hunger uncurling in his lower abdomen. 

He pulled away, blinking open his eyes and smiling to find her she chasing after him. Harry waited until she opened her eyes, big and brown, to ask, “May I?” 

Her brows creased, and he wondered if he had said the wrong thing, concern working its way through him when her eyes watered, turning glassy. He moved his hand away, an apology on his tongue, but then she had her hair wound in his hair, pulling him back down for a hard kiss. 

“Yes,” she breathed when she released him again, “Yes.” 

Hooking in the elastic waistband of her pants he pulled them down the length of her legs until they were gone altogether, lost to the carpet like the rest of her attire. He pressed his fingers against her clit he did it so he could taste her sighing. He felt it go through him like an arrow, but it had already reached its target, having struck him long ago. 

His fingers slid over her clit, applying a light pressure and working his way up from there. Starting soft, then a little harder, then a little harder, until he found the right amount that had Macy’s breath hitching, her body tensing underneath his own. He repeated it over and over, just there, and watched as Macy reacted to it, making sure to take note of all the little gestures and sounds she was making. 

His trousers were tight, hips desperate to drop down and find friction against her. Harry redirected that want into his fingers, to his mouth, pouring the emotion into her. He pushed farther down passed her clit, brushing against the tender folds that had become sticky and wet. He moved his fingers inside, feeling her expand around him. He kept his thumb on her clit, falling into that steady rhythm, quicker than his average heartbeat, but still strong and consistent.

Macy pushed against him, squirmed and grasped at his back to gather him in closer, sighed as softly as she did when she’d found the answer to the question that had been bothering her that day. He knew that sound, had heard it on the other side of the table as he finished the paper’s crossword. He heard it when they were training and Macy had finally gotten the technique right, the potion to mix. He wanted the quivers to turn to trembles, for the sighs to grow into moans, the sounds that he was not so familiar with but wanted to be all the same. 

She twitched and shivered, her breath growing raspy so he went a little harder, a little faster, until she arched against him and gasped, like he had stolen the air right out of her lungs. It was almost animal, the sound, and it went straight to his cock which was straining so hard against the fabric of his trousers that it made concentrating now near impossible. He wanted her to make that noise again, thinking that if Macy were the distraction he would be able to ignore all else.

He pulled back from her mouth and moved down the length of her until he could press a kiss to the inside of her thigh, hand still on her massaging a few more steady circles. Harry felt her hand grasp his hair, tugging enough to make his scalp tingle. His lips moved up her thigh to trail faint kisses. He had to removed his hand to grasp her leg, shifting it over his good shoulder. When he dipped down he felt the warmth of her core, its softness. Harry closed his lips around it and sucked, feeling the shiver and shudder. 

It had been a long day, a long couple of weeks, and yet Macy made him restless. He kept sucking, rubbing that sensitive bundle of nerves over with his tongue so she would make the same noise, and then another. Her groin pressed up, then relaxed again into the sheets, hips giving a tiny twist when Harry pressed again with his tongue. He liked the immediacy of it; he tasted her and her body moved. He went a little harder and Macy keened. A call and response, like they were having one of their long and senseless conversations, the kind where Harry would lose track of time and forget where it is the discussion had even started. 

There was a pleasure in something like that, a something that had no beginning and end. Pleasure, too, when you were inside it, was as round as a circle. It trapped you and you could do nothing but follow where it led. 

Harry dipped down and moved to her folds. They were wet and hot now. He pressed his tongue inside, tasting the silk of her ways. He shifted his hand up and thumbed over her clit as he plunged even deeper. She reacted at once, dragging her foot up his back again, then pressing it down. He would smile if his mouth wasn’t still busy, his tongue teasing her walls, stroking where she was softest and most vulnerable. She was so wet for him now, he couldn’t help but think about how she’d feel around his cock, which made him grunt in the back of his throat. He shifted against the mattress, but the brush of it against his cock did little more than tease him.

He didn’t give in. Just closed his eyes and kept drinking her, until Macy lifted her hips again and he could feel the muscles of her core clenching. He chased it, his hand shifting up from her clit to her hip. He grabbed her there and pinned her down so he could stroke her through the climax.

Macy keened, a noise like a whimper, barely there. But to Harry it was a lightning strike.

She said his name, whispered it, like a holy secret. But to him it was loud, a clap of thunder.

He felt these noises inside his own gut. He felt it rushing through his bloodstream, his fingers clenching on Macy’s hip so she pushed her core upward, as Harry’s tongue plunged even deeper. Just like Harry wanted because he wanted her, all of her, he wanted her to coat his tongue and to taste her in the back of his throat.

It was close now, she was close. Harry’s own cock pulsed, could feel the tip of it wet and hungry. He imagined Macy’s head tossed back, half-propped on her elbows. Felt her hand in his hair, pull and push him, her nails scraping for a second at his scalp.

Then Macy clenched one last time, her back arching. 

Another sigh, gentle and low, but Harry thought it was the loudest thing in the room. He felt it travel through him as she came, her body trembling, her core tight and wet and hot. He kept tasting her through it until she relaxed into the mattress. Even then, Harry tasted her, as much as he could. When he finally pulled his head away and sat up, he realized he was dizzy too. Like he’d forgotten to breathe. It took him a second to blink through the feeling, to find himself in his own body and feel the arousal again: face flushed, his cock hard and hot trapped in his trousers. Vaguely he had been aware of the sound of glass breaking somewhere, of a mass of heavy objects going _ clunk _ as they fell against something, but he didn’t so much as cast a glance about the room.

Because there Macy was, looking at him with her mouth open to haul in air that had her chest heaving. Neither of them can seem to get any words out because it all felt like so much, enough to overwhelm the both of them, both known for either their wordy speeches or intelligent ramblings, into silence. 

Her eyes raked down him until they landed on his waist. Macy sat up to cup her hands around his neck, pulling him back with her. She made quick work of his trousers and pants, and he couldn’t even bring himself to mourn how wrinkled they would be with the way she tossed them elsewhere. 

“I’m glad it was you,” she said into his ear, taking Harry’s cock in hand and stroking it over and over. “In all those universes. In this universe, I’m glad it was you, Harry.”

Macy’s name was torn from his throat, voice raw and fraying. The combination of her hand and her words, the love and promise, pulls the coil inside him taut to trip him, dangle him over ecstasy and agony. For a moment all he could hear was the roar of the sea, his blood rushing in his ears, and then it all just slanted one way until he felt and felt and felt, face buried in the slope of her neck.

It took a couple of minutes for him to come back down, to gather himself enough to open his eyes. 

The first thing he did was press his lips to the underside of her jaw before he used his good arm to push himself up to look down at her. She smiled up at him, her soft fingertips grazing his chin making him melt into her. He leaned over onto his elbow, the back of his hand brushing the hair from her face as they simply looked at one another. 

“Are you alright, love?” he asked after a while. She pressed her lips together, eyes flickering elsewhere as she seemed to take catalog of everything. 

“I’m…” she glanced down, “sticky.” 

He winced, sheepish, and got up, returning a few minutes later with a damp washcloth to clean the both of them of his mess. She caught him by the hip before he could return it back to the hamper, using her powers to cast it across the room, so that she could pull him back to the bed. He pulled back the duvet and sheets, allowing them to settle underneath, him gingerly lying on his back as she nestled into his side. He took her hand in his, pressing a kiss to her knuckles and letting it settle over his chest where a heart that belongs to him but is not his alone, beat steadily on. 

It was then that he took notice of the rest of the room. 

His wardrobe had tipped over to knock a dent in the drywall, his closet door had come loose from one of the hinges, the things he’d had on his bedside table now lay in a heap next to where the table itself had fallen. His brow furrowed, wondering what could have caused such a disruption. They were in Michigan, not known for earthquakes, and they hadn’t felt a hellquake in quite some time. 

“Sorry,” Macy said, “I got a bit carried away.” 

“You did this?” he asked, giving another cursory glance about the room. “I don’t remember that. Where you here when I was under the influence of the poison?” 

“Seriously?” At his lack of understanding she laughed, soft and airy. “You’re the one that made do it.”

“I beg your pardon?” 

Macy sighed, grumpily lifting her head to give a pointed look down at the bed then up at him. He narrowed his eyes, trying to find the answer among the rumbled sheets and wrinkled blanket, but was unable to see what she wanted him to. That was until Macy motioned with her free hand, to the bed, to herself, to the room and- oh. 

“I uhm- I see,” he cleared his throat, feeling suddenly awkward despite what had just occurred between them. He startled when Macy’s fingers brushed at his hairline. 

“I wasn’t complaining,” she told him softly when he had met her eyes once more. Macy smiled, and then readjusted to settle back down against him. “But if next time is anything like that, I’m kind of worried for the state of this place.” 

“Ah, well,” he made a face, going for nonchalant but it melted into something with far more fondness, “what’s a bit of minor home repairs?” 

Macy snorted, “Tell that to our attic window.” 

They allowed silence to settle over them for several minutes, simply content to drink in one another’s presence. She would open her eyes to glance up at him periodically because Harry was staring at her, not even trying to hide it. Not when he didn’t have to, not anymore. 

“We’re going to have to tell them.” He felt Macy huff more so than heard it. “They are going to figure it out eventually, and I think it better they were it from us rather than them thinking we’re trying to keep it from them.”

“I...mayhavealreadytoldthem,” she said all in a rush, voice muffled by his skin where she had her face buried into his side. 

“But we’ve only just- And you didn’t- How could you have possibly _ already _ have told them?” Harry asked, scandalized. He readjusted their position, scooting away so that she would be forced to look up at him. 

“I texted them on our way over here. I mean, Maggie was the only one reading it since Mel was driving, but I’m sure once we were out of the car she told Mel.” 

His mouth fell open, amusement rolling in to replace his shock. Harry let out a bark of laughter, eyebrows raising, “That confident, were you?” 

“Oh my god, I didn’t mean it like that! I planned on talking about it first but-” and at that Harry laughed again, earning him a light smack. “I was! But then you looked at me with your big Bambi eyes-”

_ “Bambi eyes?” _he repeated, slower and more articulated in his confused offense as to if it was to be considered a compliment or an insult. 

“-and it was like all the words I wanted to say died on me so I...had to improvise.”

Harry pretended to consider this, as if he had been offended by her explanation. He broke rather quickly though under her look of worry, leaning forward to press a kiss to the side of her mouth where she had her lower lip between her teeth, “I will be forever indebted to your quick thinking.” A beat. Then, “We’re still expected back for movie night, aren’t we?”

“Oh, most definitely. I give it another twenty minutes before Maggie starts blowing up our phones asking us to pick up snacks on our way back there.” 

He chuckled, humming his agreement, going to sit up as that seemed to signal that it was time to start getting a move on if they wanted to shower before they left. Harry didn’t even manage to pull the covers away before Macy had his face between her hands, kissing him hard. He didn’t fight against it, simply brought his hand up to cup the back of her neck, deepening it with ease. 

She pulled away, pressing their foreheads together as they breathed, “I meant it, you know.” 

“I’m sorry?” 

“I’m glad it was you, Harry.” She pulled back a touch to give herself the proper space to look down at him, a watery breath being taken in like an anchor place. “Bare with me here, because you know I’m bad at talking about my feelings, but I...I need to say this, okay?”

He nodded in earnest, touched at her words but concerned. 

“All my life I thought what I needed was love. From my dad, my friends, my...my mom. I wanted Maggie and Mel to love me, too, when I came here. Even with Galvin, I thought if I could just get him to love me that I would finally understand. And he did love me, and I loved him. But I still felt, deep down, that there was something I was missing. Galvin may have loved me, but he didn’t understand me. How could he? I’m a witch with Demon blood in me, it was a lot to ask of anyone. But…

“But Harry,” she swallowed, her thumb swiping over his cheekbone. “_ You _ understand me. Every time I think I’m speaking in tongues you know exactly what I’m trying to say. And when you do something wrong, you ask why and fix it. And you...you get me. Without me even having to say. Like when I first learned I had been brought back from the dead, you knew what I was going through, and you’re there for me. You know all my disguises I hide behind but still like to see me, the real me, anyways. Demon and all.”

A moment passed before he was able to do anything, and even then he was unable to do much of anything besides letting out a gush of air that he had been holding through that entire speech, unwilling to let anything ruin it. He knew how difficult it was for Macy to speak so freely of her feelings, had been trying his best to allow her to see that he was someone he could trust with them, so to hear them given to him because she wanted to was truly remarkable.

His smile grew as he looked up at her, his words sticking to the back of his throat, threatening to choke him. Eventually he was able to swallow them down, “I could never have imagined that you would feel the same. Thank you.”

A soft smile played at the corners of her mouth, “For what?” 

“Allowing me to love you. For allowing me to be the one you love. For trusting me and letting me stay and-” his smile grew as he looked up at her, shaking his head as his emotions overwhelmed him. Harry leaned up, “For everything, all of it.” 

“Thanks for staying,” she replied and leaned down, “Even though we almost get you killed every other week.”

They met in the middle, smile against smile, Macy sighing contently into his mouth. 

“I wouldn’t miss it.” 

Somewhere, one of their phones buzzed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aye we did it !! sorry it took me so long to get this absolute chonk of a chapter to you guys.  
thank you to everyone who has read this! and to those who have left a kudos/comment, i truly appreciate you guys taking the time out of your days to so much as spare this a glance :'))


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